A new craze is sweeping the Rose.
Proskauer Rose leaders have flown to London to interrogate a star partner who keeps getting accused of bullying, RollOnFriday understands.
A junior lawyer quit the firm in 2020 after alleging harassment against the partner, who ROF will call ’Dom’ (not his real name).
At a townhall meeting after that unpleasantness, London Managing Partner Mary Kuusisto informed staff that allegations had been made.
She did not name the partner, but attendees were reminded “to act appropriately" and "to remember their obligations", according to insiders.
The firm told ROF at the time that “Proskauer does not tolerate disrespectful or inappropriate behaviour”, and that ”we encourage anyone to report behaviour that they believe violates Proskauer’s policies”.
Its encouragement paid off. Post-lockdown, Dom got back in the office and “back in action”, said a source, resulting in fellow partners and associates whistleblowing on his conduct to HR and the US head office.
An insider estimated that approximately seven members of Dom’s team came forward with concerns regarding bullying.
“Associates are at their wits end, breaking down and refusing to do work with [Dom]”, said a source.
The alleged deluge of complaints was apparently big enough to make a noise in New York. The firm’s co-head of corporate and Steven Ellis, Proskauer’s chair, flew to London in successive weeks to address matters with the partner, said a source.
Asked to comment, the firm said, “We encourage everyone to report behaviour that they believe violates our policies. The Firm conducts a full investigation of any reports of inappropriate behaviour and takes corrective action when warranted”.
In 2019 a Proskauer solicitor claimed a toxic working environment compelled him to lie to partners about failing an exam, and that a partner told him to "fuck off and cry to HR". However, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal dismissed his allegations and ordered him to be struck off.
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Comments
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I thought the UK had rowed back on bullying as an issue? (thanks, the Real Dom)
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Proskauer does not tolerate disrespectful or inappropriate behaviour
Going out on a limb here but it kind of sounds like...it does
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Can the real [redacted first name] ‘Dom’ [redacted surname] please stand up….
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Please name and shame this bully partner? Who is it?
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Will the real [redacted] ‘Dom’ [redacted] please stand up….
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It’s bonkers that Proskauer tolerates this reportable behaviour. How many chances does a partner at this place get.
Dom’s fellow partners must be furious with him.
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Yep, we know who he is, thanks, however we'd rather Dom was not outed here today.
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Sounds like Proskauer is going to have to answer the same question as Simpsons, but with more actual money on the line:
Do you want to make money?
Or do you want to make fragile interchangeable junior associates feel better about themselves until they leave for in-house positions at circa 5PQE?
And then possibly the follow up question:
No but seriously, I mean like loads and loads of money?
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@jamie. Maybe outing all our Doms is the only way we drain the swamp?
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This reminds me of my former firm, magic circle. There were multiple allegations of bullying made against a partner in Asian management including from other partners, that the rest of the management group were aware of but ignoring. The firm eventually encouraged people to come forward and speak up, or at least pretended to. One partner did so vocally on behalf of himself and others, and also uncovered that the management group in Asia had been doctoring performance records of out of favour lawyers, including partners, and then using those “modified” records to justify cutting pay. They all turned on the whistleblower with a fake investigation that made out that there was nothing to see other than some harmless secretarial errors. It was a total stitch up. But they picked the wrong target, he had evidence of what they had been up to including that the “conclusion” of the investigation was already written up before it had even started ! He ended up getting a written apology from management shared with the whole of the partnership in Asia as they bent the knee to him and a huge pay off in return for his silence…it was all hushed up….until ROF picked up the story. Nothing ever happened to any of the management group and we all learnt from their reaction whenever anyone asked about it that it was best for one’s career not to ask questions….
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@10:16 - I'd rather keep my Dom's existence a private matter, thank you very much.
Discretion is very much part of the service I'm paying for.
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What are the allegations?
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Is this staircase?
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What staircase?
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For the love of god will no one have the guts to name this person?
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Staircase yes
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@10:10 - the principle source of their anger is that, as a result of his presence, they have all - to a man and to a woman - had to invest in larger wheelbarrows to transport all of the cash home in.
They're fuming. I assure you.
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This guy needs to have a very honest mirror conversation and own up to the pain and suffering he has caused so many.
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@Jamie Hamilton - This is a very similar read to your article in 2020 (EXCLUSIVE Proskauer Rose associate quits alleging harassment by partner | RollOnFriday). Recycling stories or is this a different incident?
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You've got me. When I can't be bothered, I just put an old one back up again.
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This looks (very) similar to this article - EXCLUSIVE Proskauer Rose associate quits alleging harassment by partner | RollOnFriday. Could be systemic problems or just poor journalism prompting a bit of recycling for some headline grabbing...?
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I bet Dom’s clients think the sun rises from and sets in his bum
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Surely he has lost all of his clients or will do? Who would engage with this beast - he’s must be a risk to reputation.
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"Surely he has lost all of his clients or will do? Who would engage with this beast"
What kind of client would ever want to work with someone who pushed his team to meet that client's unreasonably short deadlines without slipping their exacting quality standards as a consequence?
It's a real puzzler.
But whatever, I'm sure that none of us would ever engage with that kind of business.
Written on my iPhone that I bought for a few hundred quid because it was made by Chinese slaves, apologies for typos!
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Is Dom still in situ?
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Arrogance factor…probably buggered off to the slopes or the caribbean
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Yes, what staircase?