One of the elite “magic circle” law firms is under controversy ever since one of its Senior Partner has been accused of Sexual Misconduct.

A Senior Partner at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, has told that claims he took advantage of a Junior Lawyer by initiating sexual activity in 2016 have left him feeling “devastated”.

Addressing the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal on Oct 04, Ryan Beckwith, a 41-year-old restructuring lawyer, and a Partner at Freshfields, denied an account of two events given by the woman — identified only as person A.

On a work night out in May 2016, Beckwith is accused of trying to kiss the woman at a bar. Following separate after-work drinks the following July, he is accused of tricking his way into the woman’s flat after accompanying her home in a taxi, by asking to use her bathroom. He is then alleged to have initiated sexual activity, which the woman said she didn't want to indulge in.

Beckwith, who is accused of professional misconduct, told the tribunal he had been “devastated” to read the allegations against him, claiming what happened between the two was consensual. “I was frightened that someone would write something like that about me,” he said.

The alleged victim claims both incidents followed evenings of heavy drinking. Beckwith said the restructuring and insolvency team in which they both worked was not a hard-drinking one “by any stretch”.

On Tuesday, the woman told that she had been left feeling “very anxious, very alone” and on medication for anxiety.

Married Beckwith, who is on indefinite leave, tried to have the case thrown out by the SDT in June, saying the investigation had been flawed. He was unsuccessful.

On day five of the 10-day trial, the tribunal also heard about Beckwith’s path to becoming a partner at Freshfields, which took him from working-class roots in Basildon, Essex, to reading civil law at the University of Oxford.

A Spokesperson from Freshfields said in a statement: “Given the ongoing proceedings, to which we are not a party, it would be inappropriate to comment further on this case.

“The firm takes all complaints extremely seriously. When this complaint was reported to us we instructed an external law firm to conduct a thorough investigation and we took actions in the light of the report’s findings.”

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Source: Legally India