Report into Bakers sexual misconduct claim finds 'shortcomings' in firm's handling of incident
The final report into Baker McKenzie's handling of a historic sexual misconduct incident has concluded that there were "shortcomings” in the way the incident was managed.
Bakers has announced today (11 October) that the joint report, undertaken by a special committee at the firm in conjunction with Simmons & Simmons, found that there were "a number of shortcomings in the way the incident was handled at that time, which we very much regret”.
The incident centred around the sexual assault of a female associate by a male partner six years ago. The associate received a payout from Bakers and entered into a confidentiality agreement before leaving the firm, while the partner in question left the firm after the claims came to light in February this year.
After news of the incident broke, Bakers apologised for how it managed the episode and announced it would launch an independent review into its handling of the event, with Simmons appointed to lead the investigation this February.
According to the firm, the review included more than 36 interviews, as well as “analysis of relevant documentation”.
The special committee was made up of a group of senior partners led by Kevin Coon, the chair of Bakers policy committee, and Constanze Ulmer-Eilfort, its executive committee member in charge of diversity and inclusion, and other senior business professionals at the firm.
Bakers said the review was "global in scope" and had "considered what measures, mechanisms and processes the firm should have in place to ensure such matters are dealt with to the highest standards, by considering the protection of complainants, appropriate confidentiality in the interest of the complainant, due process, disciplinary measures, firm governance, institutional knowledge-sharing and achieving the highest ethical standards within the firm."
Bakers' statement added: “Simmons commented that as a firm we had been particularly open and transparent in our desire to ensure that we got to the root of the problem and to learn from our mistakes.”
The issues around the incident itself and the firm's response are still under investigation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).
The review also recommended a series of additional initiatives, which Bakers will introduce during the coming months "to comprehensively address workplace behaviour".
The firm will bring in a 'First Point of Contact' role in an effort to ensure that all its offices have a number of trained people "who are available in person as a first point of contact for questions or concerns regarding inclusion, respect at work or breach of a policy".
Bakers also noted that during the past six years it has taken proactive measures including rolling out a firmwide code of business conduct and an independent reporting hotline, implementing enhanced mandatory training on conduct and ethics, and creating a role of chief people officer to take on diversity and inclusion-related responsibilities.
Bakers' statement added: "The SRA investigation is ongoing, as is our commitment to protect the privacy of the former associate, as she has requested.
"None of this has been easy, but it's been a necessary period of reflection and self-assessment. We are determined to learn, to ensure that these new programmes are implemented consistently across the firm, and to use this moment to improve."
Last year, Legal Week research found that nearly two thirds of female lawyers have experienced some form of sexual harassment while working at a law firm, with more than half experiencing it on more than one occasion. A number of female lawyers also spoke anonymously to Legal Week about their experiences of sexual harassment in the profession.
