Clyde & Co has fired one of its most senior partners over his "inappropriate behaviour".
The partner, whom RollOnFriday is not naming, was ejected from the partnership last Friday. He was the head of one of its major teams and a recipient of industry awards. Sources described him as "incredibly senior", "very successful" and the "face" of Clyde & Co within his specialism.
However, in the last year two junior female members of his team made separate complaints to the firm about his behaviour. They said the partner was frequently "inappropriate" while very drunk at events, and encouraged team members to accompany him to strip clubs. A source said he was "fond of drinks and fond of strippers".
When the allegations came to light the firm carried out an internal investigation, and a spokesman confirmed to RollOnFriday that the outcome was the dismissal of the partner "with immediate effect". He said, "We hold ourselves to the highest standards of behaviour and expect all of our partners and staff to act with integrity, maintain high ethical standards and to respect local and global regulatory environments at all times". And, in a devastating blow to misogynistic male law firm partners aged 45 plus, "we do not tolerate inappropriate behaviour".
The C&C partner is now free to set up a boutique with this week's other fired head of department, but not one for which you would want to work.
Comments
1209
1348
Preachy middle class female prudes kicking the ladder from their working class sisters.
1164
1193
Cis sex pervert
1152
1232
What was the 'inappropriate behaviour' he was fired for? How did the complainants know he was 'very drunk' at events?
1185
1257
If you don't want to go to a strip club, don't go.
1185
1236
It is inappropriate when making a complaint to say that behaviour is 'inappropriate' without saying what that behaviour is.
1368
1133
This article is lacking in any detail and has clearly been provided by someone with no insight into the circumstances. Senior Partners do not get sacked for attending strip clubs. Use your brains and read between the lines. Realise the events must have been serious and have some respect for the young women effected by this disgusting man’s behaviour.
1249
1166
how do you know the complaint didn't specify what the inappropriate behaviour was?
1241
1195
Barely a day goes by without me devoutly and earnestly paying respect to global regulatory environments.
1201
1200
It sounds like he was going round groping work colleagues at work events when very drunk and had a pattern of that over quite a few years, if I had to guess.
1133
1194
No strippers were hurt during the making of this article.
1166
1193
@Lydia - I'm not asking for guesses, I'm asking what the 'inappropriate behaviour' was that he was fired for.
1179
1198
"affected" not "effected".
1139
1224
Why do you crave this specificity? Is it more than simple prurience?
1276
1107
@'how do you know the complaint' - we don't know what the complaint said. I never said we did.
1198
1236
Specifics of sexual assault and sexual harassment are unlikely to be published in an article, particularly when there will no doubt be a subsequent SRA investigation.
1134
1250
@Prurience - asking not craving, but yes, its to understand the allegations. Why do you crave not knowing - is it more than allowing your imagination to pruriently run riot at the possibilities?
1169
1212
@'Subsequent SRA Investigation' - why not - one doesn't preclude the other!
1239
1294
I am fairly close to the detail of this case. The individual is highly respected and liked by those he works with. There is little or no evidence I have seen to suggest this man did anything sufficiently inappropriate or anything that was non-consensual outside of the workplace that would justify his dismissal. However, the political environment within which we are working makes everyone but the most saintly/boring a potential victim on this puritanical path we appear to have chosen.
1169
1163
Can someone give a clue...?
1207
1237
@‘i am fairly close’. Indeed you know absolutely nothing about the non consensual actions of this man. So until you do you should probably keep comments like that to yourself. Or remove your anonymity. The question you should ask yourself is how would you feel these were your daughters.
1139
1210
"Why do you crave not knowing - is it more than allowing your imagination to pruriently run riot at the possibilities?"
I don't think it is important to dwell on the specifics, and profoundly unhelpful to invite speculation. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, I think it is reasonable to assume that the sanction applied was commensurate with whatever the behaviour was.
It is you, and not I who are fixating on prurience.
1174
1144
@Prurient - Asking for what an allegation is isn't 'dwelling on specifics'. By discouraging the details from being disclosed you are inviting speculation. You don't know what, if anything, happened, never mind whether the punishment was commensurate. You are correct, there is no evidence. It was you and not I who mentioned prurience in attempt to avoid the details of the allegations being discussed.
1140
1180
What an odd story. I thought these sorts of establishments were virtually compulsory for City types and their clients.
1248
1206
Good riddance! Total respect to the woman who had the bravery and strength to pursue their complaints!
1145
1201
@Daughters - Imagine how you would feel if the accused was your father. Your attempt to close down dialogue is an example of why it can be difficult for victims to speak up and why perpetators get away with it. You shouldn't call on people to identify themselves while you remain anonymous - people can use that identity to sexually harass commenters and threaten their employment.
1219
1160
@Good Riddance - what were the complaints?
1171
1208
Down with the patriarchy! One man at a time!
1174
1197
GC won't be happy
1221
1162
The chap in question is not widely liked at all - he is an utter bell end
1175
1260
The fact is serious allegations were made, they were investigated and found true by an appropriate body. So there were no false allegations. The correct action was taken by people who appraised all evidence.
This discussion does not need to do the same. Victims should always be given support, which is sadly lacking from some comments and people, which can be the case in these situations, conflate the victim with the perpetrator.
1172
1156
What an utter demon.
1180
1195
It was only a night out for Pete's sake
1152
1216
The net is closing on sleazy men. No wonder they're all so scared.
1211
1171
Strip clubs were a thing for the sleazier blokes in the profession in the 90s. Even then, it was frowned upon to go to them. To do so two decades later is both crass and stupid.
1181
1219
@HiLo - what do you mean?
1127
1216
It's weird how so many of these stories keep the names of the people involved anonymous. Why not report the full story if you're going to report at all?
1131
1234
Maybe they don’t name him as a concession to a poor sod who’s already been punished for his errors.
1208
1192
To those spouting the dangerous and damaging comments, victim blaming and attempting to stand up for him. You are part of the problem. At best your comments are idiotic at worst they are dangerous. It’s people like you that make it so difficult for victims to speak out
1245
1132
My isn't his heterosexual non-gender queerness being commented on here? These people make up by far the majority of abusers. They are dangerous!
1159
1213
Legal week have reported it is Peter Walmsley
1153
1152
Legal Week have reported the partner consulted.
1192
1195
@'Lacking in any Detail' - what were the allegations? From the available information it isn't possible to use brains, read between the lines or make any realisation regarding the seriousness of the allegations, including the age of the women, whether the man's behaviour was disgusting or how women were affected by the behaviour. Asking what the allegations are doesn't show a lack of respect, in fact quite the opposite.
1180
1166
@"The Fact is serious allegations were made" - you don't know that. When deciding whether or not someone is guilty of something they are accused of it is important to make an informed decision, and where the accusation is serious or could have serious repercussions, not to be blasé. Here, you don't know what the allegations are, whether they are serious, the extent to which they have been investigated, whether they were all (assuming there was more than one) found true by an appropriate body, whether any were false (assuming there was more than one), whether all evidence was appraised, and whether the decision made was correct. Any passing of judgement on the matter does of course need to understand a bit about what happened, otherwise it will lack credibility and may lead to wrong assumptions and incorrect statements. On the wider discussion, victims should always be given support, which is sadly lacking from some comments and some people and can lead to people confusing, not conflating, the victim with the perpetrator.
1163
1196
@Spouting - I don't presume to know what happened here as I don't know what the allegations were, but criticising people just for defending someone who is accused of something is indeed part of the problem. I agree with your other sentiments on victim blaming comments and the fact they make it difficult for victims to speak out. Where we are likely to differ in many cases is in our opinion of who the victim is.
1208
1111
I worked for the firm but no longer (one of my worst jobs ever!). I don't know the guy personally. That said the victims are brave for speaking out and am sure they will be glad he has been dismissed but of course it never ends there for victims and this will stay with them.
1109
1233
whats his name?
1177
1151
@Worked at Clyde but didn't like it - without knowing the allegations its difficult to comment on victims or how long anyone is likely to be affected.
1130
1224
As a general rule, if you let something like this get to the stage where you have to fire someone, you’ve ****ed up. From what is said in the article, the alleged behaviour here does not seem to be at the more serious, Weinstein end of the scale but appears to involve simply being a pain in the arse. While such matters should be taken seriously I do wonder if Clydes jumped the gun in defaulting to the most stringent course of action. There may be more to it than meets the eye but, as a very busy and important partner at a firm much better than Clyde & Co, who is regularly called upon to arbitrate the fates of colleagues, clients, and the very Gods themselves, it sounds like a scenario I’d have dealt with through action short of dismissal.
1142
1292
Those citing “victim blaming” immediately come up against the hard wall of truth that not one person in this discussion has blamed a victim in any way. This is just an intellectually idle attempt to raise a discursive third rail to shut down debate - hey guys, will you play the Hitler card next? Particular chuckles at anon of 12 October, a few posts above; “the fact is serious allegations were made [pomp pomp waffle waffle]”. Um, the “fact” here is that like everyone else on this thread, you have no idea what actually went on, and presenting as “facts” all propositions that support your desired take on the case, while dismissing all others, won’t change that. The things you cite as facts may be so, but from the outside we have no way of judging whether they are, or whether the truth is that (say) the allegations were trivial or trumped-up, the process was botched, etc. Which I’m not saying they were, but you’re not equipped to assert what’s a fact and what isn’t any more than I am. Finally, a big, ringing LOL at “the question you should ask yourself is how would you feel if these were your daughters”. 100+ years of feminism and the best approach you can come up with to frame a sexual harassment discussion is rank paternalism? Brilliant, got any others? In any event I can’t judge how I’d feel if those were my daughters because *like everyone else on here* I don’t know them or any of the people involved and I don’t know what actually happened. Wind your necks in FGS.
1164
1210
Seen some of the other news reports - 45! Must have had one hell of a paper round.
1089
1119
Feel kinda bad for the guy. Surely this happens all the time in the city. If you don't want to go, don't go! What's the problem?
1127
1148
He got sacked! The problem is the new generation who are entering law firms after a long and gruelling education to work in this professional industry are being forced after entering into this alarming environment to accept this behaviour as normal. To progress you are made to feel that you have go accept this kind of behaviour. When will the industry realise that this not normal behaviour the opposite of which I would certainly not describe as saintly. Leave sex in the city to the TV screen. This has to change from the top down with grass root juniors sending a clear message, this behaviour is no longer acceptable.
1117
1100
disgusting!
1084
1048
@disgusting! - although we don't know the full details and circumstances of the allegations.
1088
1139
Great more equity for me
1133
1083
Yep, the motivation for many an allegation against a partner.
1133
1100
great you can take it to your grave and we shall bury you in it.
1115
1089
people in power seldom know how to exercise it