Latest news with #SolicitorsDisciplinaryTribunal
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Lawyer who sexually harassed colleague retains anonymity over mental health
A partner at a London law firm who told a junior colleague he wanted to 'dominate you sexually' has been granted anonymity on the grounds that revealing his identity would damage his mental health. The top-ranking lawyer was brought before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal for sexually harassing a colleague at a leaving drinks in central London in June 2022. The solicitor 'out of the blue' said 'I want to dominate you sexually' to a junior colleague while laughing with a 'smile on his face'. The incident occurred a minute and a half into starting a conversation with the junior lawyer whom he had not met before, the tribunal heard. The junior lawyer – referred to as Person A in proceedings – asked him: 'What are you saying to me?' He then repeated his statement, adding: 'Yeah, you'd like it.' The incident took place at a pub near their law firm's London offices and occurred while both lawyers were sat at a table with other co-workers. Person A left the pub shortly after the partner made his comments. She described herself as 'shocked, really angry and really upset' and said she cried on her way home from the nearby City Thameslink station. The tribunal has ruled the solicitor's behaviour amounted to sexual harassment. It has banned him from working as a lawyer for two years and ordered him to pay £32,655.07. However, the tribunal also made the unusual decision to let the law firm partner retain his anonymity after he submitted evidence arguing that naming him would breach his rights under the European Convention on Human Rights. He submitted medical evidence showing there would be 'a real risk to his life' if his identity were revealed. This included testimony from a psychiatrist who issued a report before the hearing. The firm where the lawyer works has also not been named. In his defence, the partner said he was under personal pressure as a result of issues in his marriage and was suffering from exhaustion following an overseas trip where he had drunk alcohol for six nights in a row. He said social anxiety resulting from meeting a lot of people had also contributed to his 'out-of-character behaviour'. He claimed he had heightened nervousness about meeting people after not doing so for a long period as a result of Covid restrictions. The partner later reported himself to the Solicitors Regulation Authority. The tribunal said he was full of remorse and shame. Prior to the incident, Person A had worked at the law firm for four and a half years, in a position that was 'a couple of layers' below the partner, whom she had never spoken to previously. After the incident, the partner sent Person A a message on Microsoft Teams apologising for his behaviour. He said: 'I often say some things which are completely inappropriate. 'Even for my close friends who know me, I know I can be a bit much – pushing limits ... I honestly spoke to you like I would my closest friends and I really hope that you can take this as a compliment to your fun and bubbly personality.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Telegraph
Lawyer who sexually harassed colleague retains anonymity over mental health
A partner at a London law firm who told a junior colleague he wanted to 'dominate you sexually' has been granted anonymity on the grounds that revealing his identity would damage his mental health. The top-ranking lawyer was brought before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal for sexually harassing a colleague at a leaving drinks in central London in June 2022. The solicitor 'out of the blue' said 'I want to dominate you sexually' to a junior colleague while laughing with a 'smile on his face'. The incident occurred a minute and a half into starting a conversation with the junior lawyer whom he had not met before, the tribunal heard. The junior lawyer – referred to as Person A in proceedings – asked him: 'What are you saying to me?' He then repeated his statement, adding: 'Yeah, you'd like it.' The incident took place at a pub near their law firm's London offices and occurred while both lawyers were sat at a table with other co-workers. Person A left the pub shortly after the partner made his comments. She described herself as 'shocked, really angry and really upset' and said she cried on her way home from the nearby City Thameslink station. The tribunal has ruled the solicitor's behaviour amounted to sexual harassment. It has banned him from working as a lawyer for two years and ordered him to pay £32,655.07. However, the tribunal also made the unusual decision to let the law firm partner retain his anonymity after he submitted evidence arguing that naming him would breach his rights under the European Convention on Human Rights. He submitted medical evidence showing there would be 'a real risk to his life' if his identity were revealed. This included testimony from a psychiatrist who issued a report before the hearing. The firm where the lawyer works has also not been named. 'I often say some things which are completely inappropriate' In his defence, the partner said he was under personal pressure as a result of issues in his marriage and was suffering from exhaustion following an overseas trip where he had drunk alcohol for six nights in a row. He said social anxiety resulting from meeting a lot of people had also contributed to his 'out-of-character behaviour'. He claimed he had heightened nervousness about meeting people after not doing so for a long period as a result of Covid restrictions. The partner later reported himself to the Solicitors Regulation Authority. The tribunal said he was full of remorse and shame. Prior to the incident, Person A had worked at the law firm for four and a half years, in a position that was 'a couple of layers' below the partner, whom she had never spoken to previously. After the incident, the partner sent Person A a message on Microsoft Teams apologising for his behaviour. He said: 'I often say some things which are completely inappropriate. 'Even for my close friends who know me, I know I can be a bit much – pushing limits ... I honestly spoke to you like I would my closest friends and I really hope that you can take this as a compliment to your fun and bubbly personality.'
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Solicitor struck off for doing three jobs at once while working from home
A property lawyer who was caught working three jobs at the same time from home has been struck off and ordered to pay almost £9,000. Belinda Sarkodie misled her employer by claiming she was only working for them, while also working remotely at two other law firms, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal ruled. The tribunal said Ms Sarkodie capitalised on an 'extremely busy period for the conveyancing industry' during the Covid pandemic by taking on multiple jobs for her own financial gain without her employer's permission. 'She misled two firms where she worked as a locum, by submitting timesheets and claiming payment for the same hours on the same dates from both firms, while she was also employed to work full-time by a third law firm,' the tribunal ruled. The ploy came undone after clients complained about Ms Sarkodie's work and employers raised concerns that she was 'not readily contactable whilst working remotely'. In her defence, Ms Sarkodie told the tribunal she worked up to 100 hours a week while at home during the pandemic and claimed she was able to complete the tasks required under all three of her jobs by switching between them throughout her working day. The lawyer told the tribunal that she had 'worked hard in each of her roles and gone over and above the requirements', claiming she had an 'innate work ethic'. Ms Sarkodie also argued her timesheets reflected 'the total hours worked overall' while switching between tasks, 'as opposed to an accurate record of the time spent on a particular working day for each of the firms that she was contracted to work for.' However, the tribunal rejected Ms Sarkodie's explanations and instead ruled she acted dishonestly by filling out the timesheets incorrectly. Ms Sarkodie also tried to argued that her failure to abide by the terms of her contract had been 'an inadvertent error', claiming she was rushed into starting a job by a recruiter and didn't realise she couldn't take on other roles as the stress meant she failed to read the contract properly. The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal said Ms Sarkodie was given a week to read over her contract and said: 'The Respondent's assertion that her breach of contract was inadvertent lacked credibility.' Ms Sarkodie has now been permanently banned from working as a solicitor and told to pay £8,891.50 in costs to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, which ruled she had acted dishonestly and undermined trust in the profession by misleading her employer. The property lawyer first qualified as a solicitor in 2020 before starting a job at London law firm Muve in May 2021. She later starting working two extra locum jobs in June that year, before quitting both jobs the following month. Ms Sarkodie was subsequently fired from her full-time position at Muve in September, at the end of her three month probationary period as a result of 'poor performance' at the conveyancing law firm based in Richmond, south-west London. The tribunal said that given she acted dishonestly the 'only appropriate and proportionate sanction' was for Ms Sarkodie to be struck off from the the Solicitors Register. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
02-06-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Solicitor struck off for doing three jobs at once while working from home
A property lawyer who was caught working three jobs at the same time from home has been struck off and ordered to pay almost £9,000. Belinda Sarkodie misled her employer by claiming she was only working for them, while also working remotely at two other law firms, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal ruled. The tribunal said Ms Sarkodie capitalised on an 'extremely busy period for the conveyancing industry' during the Covid pandemic by taking on multiple jobs for her own financial gain without her employer's permission. 'She misled two firms where she worked as a locum, by submitting timesheets and claiming payment for the same hours on the same dates from both firms, while she was also employed to work full-time by a third law firm,' the tribunal ruled. The ploy came undone after clients complained about Ms Sarkodie's work and employers raised concerns that she was 'not readily contactable whilst working remotely'. In her defence, Ms Sarkodie told the tribunal she worked up to 100 hours a week while at home during the pandemic and claimed she was able to complete the tasks required under all three of her jobs by switching between them throughout her working day. The lawyer told the tribunal that she had 'worked hard in each of her roles and gone over and above the requirements', claiming she had an 'innate work ethic'. Ms Sarkodie also argued her timesheets reflected 'the total hours worked overall' while switching between tasks, 'as opposed to an accurate record of the time spent on a particular working day for each of the firms that she was contracted to work for.' However, the tribunal rejected Ms Sarkodie's explanations and instead ruled she acted dishonestly by filling out the timesheets incorrectly. Ms Sarkodie also tried to argued that her failure to abide by the terms of her contract had been 'an inadvertent error', claiming she was rushed into starting a job by a recruiter and didn't realise she couldn't take on other roles as the stress meant she failed to read the contract properly. The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal said Ms Sarkodie was given a week to read over her contract and said: 'The Respondent's assertion that her breach of contract was inadvertent lacked credibility.' Ms Sarkodie has now been permanently banned from working as a solicitor and told to pay £8,891.50 in costs to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, which ruled she had acted dishonestly and undermined trust in the profession by misleading her employer. The property lawyer first qualified as a solicitor in 2020 before starting a job at London law firm Muve in May 2021. She later starting working two extra locum jobs in June that year, before quitting both jobs the following month. Ms Sarkodie was subsequently fired from her full-time position at Muve in September, at the end of her three month probationary period as a result of 'poor performance' at the conveyancing law firm based in Richmond, south-west London. The tribunal said that given she acted dishonestly the 'only appropriate and proportionate sanction' was for Ms Sarkodie to be struck off from the the Solicitors Register.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Solicitor struck off for doing three jobs at once while working from home
A property lawyer who was caught working three jobs at the same time from home has been struck off and ordered to pay almost £9,000. Belinda Sarkodie misled her employer by claiming she was only working for them, while also working remotely at two other law firms, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal ruled. The tribunal said Ms Sarkodie capitalised on an 'extremely busy period for the conveyancing industry' during the Covid pandemic by taking on multiple jobs for her own financial gain without her employer's permission. 'She misled two firms where she worked as a locum, by submitting timesheets and claiming payment for the same hours on the same dates from both firms, while she was also employed to work full-time by a third law firm,' the tribunal ruled. The ploy came undone after clients complained about Ms Sarkodie's work and employers raised concerns that she was 'not readily contactable whilst working remotely'. In her defence, Ms Sarkodie told the tribunal she worked up to 100 hours a week while at home during the pandemic and claimed she was able to complete the tasks required under all three of her jobs by switching between them throughout her working day. The lawyer told the tribunal that she had 'worked hard in each of her roles and gone over and above the requirements', claiming she had an 'innate work ethic'. Ms Sarkodie also argued her timesheets reflected 'the total hours worked overall' while switching between tasks, 'as opposed to an accurate record of the time spent on a particular working day for each of the firms that she was contracted to work for.' However, the tribunal rejected Ms Sarkodie's explanations and instead ruled she acted dishonestly by filling out the timesheets incorrectly. Ms Sarkodie also tried to argued that her failure to abide by the terms of her contract had been 'an inadvertent error', claiming she was rushed into starting a job by a recruiter and didn't realise she couldn't take on other roles as the stress meant she failed to read the contract properly. The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal said Ms Sarkodie was given a week to read over her contract and said: 'The Respondent's assertion that her breach of contract was inadvertent lacked credibility.' Ms Sarkodie has now been permanently banned from working as a solicitor and told to pay £8,891.50 in costs to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, which ruled she had acted dishonestly and undermined trust in the profession by misleading her employer. The property lawyer first qualified as a solicitor in 2020 before starting a job at London law firm Muve in May 2021. She later starting working two extra locum jobs in June that year, before quitting both jobs the following month. Ms Sarkodie was subsequently fired from her full-time position at Muve in September, at the end of her three month probationary period as a result of 'poor performance' at the conveyancing law firm based in Richmond, south-west London. The tribunal said that given she acted dishonestly the 'only appropriate and proportionate sanction' was for Ms Sarkodie to be struck off from the the Solicitors Register. Sign in to access your portfolio
