people

A few of the main people of 2022.


Law is a people business, so it's only right that RollOnFriday spotlights the individuals who defined the legal landscape in 2022, or at least one orange website's deranged interpretation of it.

Plenty of people provided ROF with the opportunity to highlight how great members of the legal community can be. In January, Brabners trainee Umar Tahir raised tens of thousands of pounds for Syrian refugees, while Andrea Fraser cycled from Lviv to Edinburgh to support mothers and babies in Ukraine - after the human rights lawyer had delivered an ambulance full of medical equipment to the region. Bit much, really.

Maya Yenn, known within RPC as Maya Whatton, served as a role model for anyone harbouring dreams of creative fulfillment with her award-winning alt-pop song. In law, Gordon Aspden KC deployed the greatest callback of the year when he trapped a murderer using the same questions which snared Crippen over a hundred years ago.

Others didn't so much do something good, as prove they had not been bad. Anna Palus extracted an apology from temperamental tennis ace Nick Krygios after he accused the lawyer of being smashed at the Wimbledon final in front of a TV audience of millions, but most lawyers were exonerated in more low-key circumstances - primarily via the SRA dropping its investigation into them. That was the result for Caroline Stroud, the former Freshfields partner who was subjected to a three year investigation into her handling of a rape probe for UBS, before it was canned by the SRA. 

The regulator also decided not to bring a fresh case against Claire Matthews, the junior solicitor struck off for lying about losing a briefcase containing client documents, who was reinstated on appeal.

Other lawyers beat off attempts to destroy them which were made by, variously, a client's vengeful ex-husband, a rabid dog-breeding medical research company and, in the case of Withers associate Hannah Robinson, an aggrieved property developer - she was cleared in the Court of Appeal.

Three lawyers successfully sued their firms for binning them when they fell ill. Elona Onibere was ejected from Rodman Pearce following cancer treatment, Daniel Russell was not retained by RLK Solicitors after he collapsed and had to undergo emergency surgery, and Gulnaz Raja was sacked by Starling Bank after having the temerity to suffer from asthma. Georgina Hennessy had no problem with her employer - the Clifford Chance secretary sued Sainsburys for £500k after slipping over

Unbelievably, some deluded fools left the legal sector, like the law grad who decided she'd have more success gaming, and the lawyer who quit to become a pet medium.

A barrister made headlines when he left a plane, although it wasn't of his own volition. Charles Banner KC was escorted onto the tarmac by police after he objected to the nanny being seated apart from his children. ROF occasionally watches the footage of the incident when it needs a good cringe.

Lawyers gained their 15 minutes of fame in a variety of ways in 2022: by allegedly pretending to be a war hero, by slugging Moet in a Versace gown, by fantasising about sex with the head of a rape charity, and by pooing all over the communal areas of a Premier Inn. Clifford Chance's ex-head of tax, Dan Neidle, gained fans when he trained his guns on the former chancellor's interesting financial arrangements, and on his legal advisors.

It wasn't all good, though. A few lawyers would have benefitted from CM Murray's top tips on how not to get immolated over sex stuff. Like the Hogan Lovells associate who got gropey at karaoke, the Clydes partner whose cuddle at a strip club fared poorly, and the trainee who was sacked and fined £2k for slapping bums.

A former Eversheds Sutherland trainee, Thomas Hagyard, was banned from law after being jailed for sexually assaulting sleeping law students. A Travers associate left the firm after his inappropriate conduct, an Orrick associate alleged she was fondled by a partner, and a top partner was investigated by the SRA over sexual misconduct allegations (ROF understands he's now been handed back his management position).

Internecine issues bubbled over. Lawyers assaulted their colleagues, and even allegedly tried to murder them. At Simpson Thacher, one ripped off his shirt to fight a solicitor, while at BNP Paribas an in-house lawyer referred to a workmate as a "cheeky ch**k". And then called his bosses "c**ts". After which he left.

Professionally, errors of judgment did occur. Nicola Cain, once an RPC partner (since sacked), was disbarred and then banned from law when she was found to have forged a judge's signature and falsified court orders to mislead her famous client. Raymond McKeeve, while he was a partner at Jones Day, told a client to burn incriminating evidence. Only hurting herself, Zoya Kovalenko, a Kirkland associate, accidently left notes highlighting the weaknesses of her case in her claim against the firm.

Elsewhere, a former lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, Caroline Mitchell, was jailed for being naughty on a jury, while high-flying Neil Gerrard properly fouled up Dechert. A (now ex-) Gateley partner, Dean Copley, in retrospect, shouldn't have been quite so keen on securing gifts from a client.

There were swindles of all flavours: the AirMiles Job, in which a Skadden secretary had a lovely time crisscrossing the globe on the firm's dime; Timothy School's sprawling £20m ATM fraud; and the Scottish Castle caper, in which Stephen Jones essentially told the client his card hadn't gone through, and made him pay £10m twice. 

In motoring news, a Slaughter and May partner escaped with a slap on the wrist after mowing down a pedestrian in Hong Kong, a Willkie Farr partner was rebuked for aiming his Merc at a gobby passerby, and a Knight in shining armour (his car) was fined for drink-driving having previously assaulted someone at his house. Fingers crossed for a sedate ride through '23 (no chance).


Check out the rest of the 2022 review:

Firm fun

Money

Showbiz, show-offs and Bonkers Websites

Students

Judges and barristers

Politics, war, religion, race, and sex 

Tip Off ROF

Comments

Anonymous 23 December 22 07:45

We don't know if the Travers Smith associate's conduct was 'inappropriate' or not as we don't know what it was. We do know it was unlikely to have been serious.

Anon 23 December 22 10:42

The fact that Ashurst instructed a KC to investigate shows that the Ashurst associate’s conduct was inappropriate and serious.

anonymous 23 December 22 11:40

@ Anon 23 December 22 10:42 - yes, and the fact that he was dismissed also tells us that his conduct was inappropriate.

Anonymous 24 December 22 05:24

@23rd @ 10.42 - we know the conduct of  the associate at Ashurst wasn't inappropriate or serious because the allegations were against an associate at Travers Smith. Since there were no allegations against an associate at Ashurst there was no KC brought in by Ashurst.

We don't know if the conduct of the associate at Travers Smith was inappropriate because we don't know what the conduct was. We know it wasn't serious because they brought in a KC.

Anonymous 24 December 22 06:09

Freshfields investigated the Orrick case and found no evidence that the groping took place. Unfortunately false allegations are very common in relation to 'sexual harassment'.

Anonymous 24 December 22 08:48

@23rd @11.40 - we don't know if the conduct was inappropriate because we don't know what the conduct was. The fact he was dismissed doesn't indicate whether the conduct was inappropriate.

Anon 24 December 22 08:57

Anonymous 24 December 22 05:24: 

We know the conduct of the associate at Ashurst was inappropriate and serious because the allegations were against an associate at Ashurst. There were allegations against an associate at Ashurst, which is why Ashurst brought in a KC.

We know that the conduct of the associate at Ashurst was inappropriate because they brought in a KC and the associate was dismissed.

Anon 24 December 22 08:58

Anonymous 24 December 22 06:09: Freshfields investigated the Orrick case and found evidence that the groping took place. Fortunately, false allegations are very uncommon in relation to sexual harassment.

Anonymous 24 December 22 09:55

@8.58 - but there was no allegations about conduct at Ashurst. Your false allegation that there was is an example of false allegations relating to sex, which are very common.

Anonymous 24 December 22 16:11

Anonymous 24 December 22 08.58: No, Freshfields investigated the Orrick case and found no evidence that the groping took place. Rof reported the allegations but not the outcome of Freshfields' investigation.

Unfortunately, false allegations are very uncommon in relation to sexual harassment, your claim that Freshfields investigated the Orrick case and found evidence that the groping took place being a case in point.

Anon 24 December 22 19:21

Anonymous 24 December 22 09:55: but there were allegations about conduct at Ashurst. Your false allegation to the contrary is an example of false allegations relating to sex - but thankfully such false allegations are not common.

Anon 24 December 22 19:30

Anonymous 24 December 22 16:11: 

No, Freshfields investigated the Orrick case and found evidence that the groping took place.

Fortunately, false allegations are very uncommon in relation to sexual harassment, but your claim that Freshfields did investigate the Orrick case and found no evidence that the groping took place is (albeit a rare) example of such an allegation.

Anon 24 December 22 19:36

Anonymous 24 December 22 08:48: we know that the conduct was inappropriate because a KC was instructed to investigate. You don’t instruct a third party to investigate - and a Silk, at that - non-serious matters. The fact he was dismissed also indicates that the conduct was inappropriate. You don’t dismiss someone for non-serious conduct.

Anonymous 25 December 22 07:23

Anonymous 24 December 22 08.58: No, Freshfields investigated the Orrick case and found no evidence that the groping took place. Rof reported the allegations but not the outcome of Freshfields' investigation.

Unfortunately, false allegations are very common in relation to sexual harassment, your claim that Freshfields investigated the Orrick case and found evidence that the groping took place being a case in point.

Anon 25 December 22 18:23

So we are all agreed:

(1) Freshfields investigated the Orrick case and found that the groping took place.

(2) False allegations are not very common in relation to sexual harassment.

Anonymous 25 December 22 21:22

Anonymous 24 December 22 19:30 No, Freshfields independently investigated the Orrick case and found no evidence that the groping took place. Rof reported the allegations but not the outcome of Freshfields' investigation.

Unfortunately, false allegations are very common in relation to sexual harassment, your claim that Freshfields investigated the Orrick case and found evidence that the groping took place being a case in point.

Anonymous 26 December 22 08:27

Anonymous 24 December 22 19:21: nope, the allegations were at Travers Smith, not Ashurst. Your false allegation that there were allegations at Ashurst is an example of false allegations relating to sex, which are very common.

Anonymous 26 December 22 10:12

Anonymous 24 December 22 19:36 : we don't know if the conduct was inappropriate because we don't know what the conduct was.

The fact they brought in a KC and that he was dismissed doesn't indicate whether the conduct was inappropriate because we don't know what the conduct was. You do bring in KCs and dismiss people for non-serious conduct, but we don't know if the conduct was serious.

Anon 26 December 22 13:51

So we are all still agreed:

(1) Freshfields investigated the Orrick case and found that the groping took place.

(2) False allegations are not very common in relation to sexual harassment.

Anon 26 December 22 13:54

Anonymous 26 December 22 08:27: so you agree that the allegations were at Ashurst and groping was found to have taken place; and that false allegations of sexual impropriety are uncommon. 

Anon 26 December 22 13:56

Freshfields independently investigated the Orrick case and found evidence that the groping took place.

Fortunately, false allegations are very uncommon in relation to sexual harassment.

Anon 26 December 22 13:56

The fact that Ashurst instructed a KC to investigate shows that the Ashurst associate’s conduct was inappropriate and serious.

Anonymous 27 December 22 16:56

@25th @ 18.23 & 26th @ 13.51 @ 26th @ 13.56 - no, Freshfields independently investigated the Orrick case and found no evidence that the groping took place. Rof reported the allegations but not the outcome of Freshfields' investigation.

Unfortunately, false allegations are very common in relation to sexual harassment, your claim that Freshfields investigated the Orrick case and found evidence that the groping took place being a case in point.

Anonymous 27 December 22 17:34

Anonymous 26 December 22 13:54: nope, the allegations were still at Travers Smith, not Ashurst. Your false allegation that there were allegations at Ashurst is an example of false allegations relating to sex, which are very common.

Anonymous 27 December 22 17:36

Anonymous 26 December 22 13:56 : no, we don't know if the conduct was inappropriate because we don't know what the conduct was.

The fact they brought in a KC and that he was dismissed doesn't indicate whether the conduct was inappropriate because we don't know what the conduct was. You do bring in KCs and dismiss people for non-serious conduct, but we don't know if the conduct was serious.

Anonymous 30 December 22 08:16

@27 @ 22.08 - we don't know if the matter was serious because we dont know what the matter was. The fact they brought in a KC doesn't indicate whether the matter was inappropriate because we don't know what the mattee was.

What is a fair inference?

Question Man 30 December 22 08:20

I saw three queries go sailing by, go sailing by, go sailing by;

I saw three queries go sailing by on Christmas Day in the morning.

And then I reassessed my life and wondered how I could make it less empty and lonely in 2023.

Ashurst associate 30 December 22 09:29

I remember the allegations and investigation. The matter was considered sufficiently serious to instruct a KC.

Anonymous 31 December 22 17:00

@29 @20.20 - no, the allegations were at Travers Smith, not Ashurst. Your false allegation that there were allegations at Ashurst is an example of false allegations relating to sex, which are very common.

Everyone on RoF 31 December 22 19:03

Anon 26 December 22 14:39: Question Man is not ok. Far from it. He is seriously mentally ill.

No Answer Woman 01 January 23 01:09

@ 30th @ 8.20 - we like the questions. They're pertinent, you have no answers to them, and they've got you singing.

Anonymous 01 January 23 05:59

@30th @ 9.29 - you won't remember the incident as there was no incident at Ashurst.

We don't know if the conduct at Travers Smith was inappropriate because we don't know what the conduct was.

The fact they brought in a KC and that he was dismissed doesn't indicate whether the conduct was inappropriate because we don't know what the conduct was.

Your false allegations that there were allegations at Ashurst and that the allegations were serious are examples of false allegations relating to sex, which are very common.

The fact they brought in a KC - a poem 01 January 23 10:45

The fact they brought in a KC and that he was dismissed doesn't indicate whether the conduct was inappropriate because we don't know what the conduct was.

The fact they brought in a KC and that he was dismissed doesn't indicate whether the conduct was inappropriate because we don't know what the conduct was.

The fact they brought in a KC and that he was dismissed doesn't indicate whether the conduct was inappropriate because we don't know what the conduct was.

The fact they brought in a KC doesn't indicate whether the matter was inappropriate because we don't know what the mattee was.

If I repeat this enough times, it will become true.  

Anonymous 01 January 23 17:50

@31st December @ 12.06 - only if the person accused has been investigated by the police, charged and convicted. Otherwise it is not an HR matter.

No Answer Woman 01 January 23 20:22

Question Man 31 December 22 12:09: seeing as you are Question Man 30 December 22 08:20 commenting on your own comment it seems that such a weirdo is you!

Anonymous 01 January 23 23:35

Can't see that the Clyde's partner did anything worthy of regulatory censure. The way it was dealt with meant he ended up a victim.

Wavid Dhitmore 02 January 23 09:46

S&G new “technical” director has an Aaron fetish - only promoting people with that name last year, expect to see the rest of the IT team let go unless they change their name by deed poll

Obvious 02 January 23 10:30

It’s obvious that the person against whom these sex related allegations were made is posting like mad to try and protect their position and/or change the historical record 

Anon 02 January 23 20:29

What the Clyde's partner did was worthy of regulatory censure. He was not a victim. The Orrick allegations turned out to be true.

Everyone on RoF 02 January 23 20:31

Question Man out in force here. What a strange bloke. Let’s hope he gets help in 2023 so we can be spared his nonsense.

Anonymous 03 January 23 00:12

@1st @10.39 - you don't remember the allegations at Ashurst Well as there were no allegations at Ashurst!

@1st @10.45 - it was alrwady true the first time it was said! What does the 'mattee' mean?!

@[email protected] - what comments? what sex related allegations? what position? what historical record? Obvious to who?!

Anon 03 January 23 07:57

Everyone in the Universe 01 January 23 22:22: please get help, Question Man. I hope 2023 might be the year when things begin to improve for you - but the starting point is seeing a mental health professional.

Anonymous 03 January 23 08:05

A top partner at a major UK law firm was investigated and found not to have done anything wrong. This is not surprising given the high incidence of false accusations relating to 'sexual harassment'.

Anonymous 03 January 23 09:21

The historical record is that Freshfields independently investigated the Orrick case and found no evidence that the groping took place. Rof reported the allegations but not the outcome of Freshfields' investigation.

Lord Lester 03 January 23 22:31

@Obvious - Excuse me, if it's me you're talking about then I'll have you know that I have been cleared of all wrongdoing by the BSB.

The historical record is very clear about that. No changes required.

Anonymous 04 January 23 10:13

@[email protected] - the Clyde's partner didn't do anything worthy of regulatory censure, indeed it is obvious the regulators thought so too. The Orrick allegations ruined out to be untrue - Freshfields independently investigated the Orrick case and found no evidence that the groping took place. Rof reported the allegations but not the outcome of Freshfields' investigation.

@[email protected] - obviously not an HR matter. Criminal allegations are for the police, not HR.

@[email protected] - what nonsense?

Anon 04 January 23 11:12

A top partner at a major UK law firm was investigated and found to have behaved inappropriately. This is not surprising given the low incidence of false accusations relating to sexual harassment.

Anon 04 January 23 11:13

The historical record is that Freshfields independently investigated the Orrick case and found that the groping took place.

Lord Lester 04 January 23 11:15

@Obvious - Excuse me, if it's me you're talking about then I'll have you know that I was found to have sexually harassed a woman. And that finding was never impugned on appeal or by any other body.

The historical record is very clear about that. No changes required.

Anonymous 04 January 23 16:57

Anon 02 January 23 21:41 - incorrect. 

We know the conduct of  the associate at Ashurst wasn't inappropriate or serious because the allegations were against an associate at Travers Smith. Since there were no allegations against an associate at Ashurst there was no KC brought in by Ashurst.

We don't know if the conduct of the associate at Travers Smith was inappropriate because we don't know what the conduct was. We know it wasn't serious because they brought in a KC.

Anonymous 05 January 23 17:26

Its clear from the comments that false accusations are very common when it comes to sexual harassment.

anon 09 January 23 11:10

Gathering the threads together, it is clear from the commentary and the voting that:

(i) Lord Lester was not cleared by the BSB or indeed at all.

(ii) False allegations of sexual harassment are uncommon.

(iii) Freshfields independently investigated the Orrick case and found that the groping took place.

(iv) What the Clyde's partner did was worthy of regulatory censure. He was not a victim.

(v) The fact that Ashurst instructed a KC to investigate shows that the Ashurst associate’s conduct was inappropriate and serious, as does the fact that the associate was dismissed.

(vi) It was appropriate for the Lovells matter to be investigated by HR.

(vii) Question Man needs help from a mental health professional.

Anonymous 09 January 23 17:57

@11.10 - Yes yes, that's all grist for the mill, but what happened at Travers Smith?

Anonymous 10 January 23 07:33

@[email protected] - what top partner was that? Certainly not any referred to in the article.

@11.13 - nah, the historical record is that Freshfields independently investigated the Orrick case and found no evidence that the groping took place. Rof reported the allegations but not the outcome of Freshfields' investigation.

@11.16 - what was?

@11.18 - its clear from the comments that false accusations are very common when it comes to sexual harassment.

Anon 10 January 23 08:20

anon 09 January 23 11:10 - yes, the comments and voting clearly support that consensus.

Jon 10 January 23 08:23

The responses and voting show how throughly sick we are of Question Man’s nonsense. What an own goal for someone who presumably wants to be taken seriously. 

Anon 10 January 23 08:33

@Anonymous 05 January 23 09:56 - it’s replies like that which show that Question Man is probably beyond help.

Anon 10 January 23 08:36

Lord Lester 03 January 23 22:31: please provide evidence that Lord Lester was cleared by the BSB.

Anonymous 10 January 23 19:47

@[email protected] - agreed, 

Gathering the threads together, it is clear from the commentary and the voting that:

(i) Lord Lester was cleared by the BSB indeed.

(ii) False allegations of sexual harassment are common.

(iii) Freshfields independently investigated the Orrick case and found that no groping took place.

(iv) What the Clyde's partner did wasnt worthy of regulatory censure. He ended up  a victim.

(v) There were no allegations about Ashurst.

(vi) It was no appropriate for the Lovells matter to be investigated by HR as the allegations were of a criminal nature.

(vii) What mental health professional? What help?

ANON 11 January 23 06:32

Question Man - that ghastly apologist for Lord Lester and others who have committed misconduct - has well and truly been handed his backside on a plate with these comments and votes.

Anon 11 January 23 12:08

Gathering the threads together, it is clear from the commentary and the voting that:

(i) Lord Lester was not cleared by the BSB or indeed at all.

(ii) False allegations of sexual harassment are uncommon.

(iii) Freshfields independently investigated the Orrick case and found that the groping took place.

(iv) What the Clyde's partner did was worthy of regulatory censure. He was not a victim.

(v) The fact that Ashurst instructed a KC to investigate shows that the Ashurst associate’s conduct was inappropriate and serious, as does the fact that the associate was dismissed.

(vi) It was appropriate for the Lovells matter to be investigated by HR.

(vii) Question Man needs help from a mental health professional.

anon 11 January 23 12:43

Anonymous 10 January 23 12:22: The House of Lords in fact decided that the process was fair (see the decision of the Committee) and the BSB did not clear Lord Lester (having no power to do so).

Anonymous 11 January 23 13:18

Another week and I still just can't get to the bottom of this Lord Lester business. There are so many different accounts flying around.

People seem to be saying that he was cleared of all wrongdoing. Is that the right of it?