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.