Back
in
June,
the
UK’s
Solicitors
Regulation
Authority
(SRA)
referred
Nicholas
Williams,
a
former
Freshfields
partner,
to
its
Solicitors
Disciplinary
Tribunal
(SDT)
in
the
wake
of
allegations
of
inappropriate
conduct
that
took
place
in
December
2017.
Williams
left
the
Magic
Circle
firm
in
December
2019
following
an
internal
investigation
into
his
behavior.
As
noted
by
the
Global
Legal
Post,
the
SDT
has
reached
a
disciplinary
decision.
[Williams]
has
been
suspended
for
two
years
and
ordered
to
pay
costs
of
£66,000
by
the
[SDT]
in
relation
to
allegations
of
“inappropriate”
behaviour.
…The
SRA
referred
the
matter
to
the
SDT
earlier
this
year,
according
to
a
notice
on
its
website,
saying
the
tribunal
had
certified
that
Williams
had
a
“case
to
answer
in
respect
of
allegations
that
…
between
20
and
21
December
2017,
[he]
engaged
in
conduct
towards
Person
A,
which
was
inappropriate
and
unwanted”.
Shortly
following
his
departure
in
2019
—
as
well
as
the extreme
inappropriate
behavior
of
ex-partner
Ryan
Beckwith
around
the
same
time
—
Freshfields
instituted
new
conduct
rules
for
partners,
inclusive
of
partners
facing
fines
of
20%
of
their
profit
shares.
Once
again,
Freshfields
distanced
the
firm
from
its
former
partner,
offering
the
following
statement:
“We
were
not
the
subject
of
the
SRA
investigation
or
involved
in
the
related
SDT
proceedings.
The
individual
left
the
firm
several
years
ago.
At
the
time,
we
looked
into
the
concerns
raised
and
took
appropriate
action.”
Ex-Freshfields
partner
suspended
by
tribunal
over
allegations
of
‘inappropriate’
behaviour
[Global
Legal
Post]
Earlier:
Former
Biglaw
Partner
Faces
Accusations
Of
‘Inappropriate
And
Unwanted’
Conduct
Staci
Zaretsky is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law,
where
she’s
worked
since
2011.
She’d
love
to
hear
from
you,
so
please
feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
comments,
or
critiques.
You
can
follow
her
on
X/Twitter
and
Threads
or
connect
with
her
on
LinkedIn.