Regulator struggles to tackle harassment and bullying at City law firms
It won’t come as a shock to you that City law firms have long struggled with cultures of bullying and harassment, and the regulator is kept out of the loop, argues senior reporter Maria Ward-Brennan.
The high-pressure demands placed on lawyers at City law firms have long bred cultures of bullying and harassment. In a profession built on upholding the law, far too many firms are falling short of the very standards they are supposed to embody.
The English legal sector, regulated by the Solicitors’ Regulation Authority (SRA), is subject to significant red tape, which should come as no surprise given the nature of its work.
From codes of conduct for corporates to professionalism codes for lawyers, which include acting fairly to maintaining trust, and even how to handle client money, if you want to legally practise as a lawyer, you must uphold all of the SRA rules.
Not surprisingly, following the MeToo movement, the legal sector also had to take a look in the mirror at its own work culture, and, as a result, the regulator introduced a code change by adding specific non‑financial misconduct provisions.
Lawyers are now expected to treat colleagues fairly and with respect, and not to bully or harass, while law firms are also expected to treat those who work for them fairly. This change in code formalised bullying/harassment/sexual misconduct as regulatory issues, and not just HR problems.
Although this is not unique to the legal sector, allegations of unfair treatment in law firms are not uncommon. And as the stakes get higher at City law firms, it has fed the bad attitudes of certain bosses and those deemed to be ‘big personalities’, resulting in a knock-on effect on office culture.
Last month, as revealed by legal publication RollOnFriday, Kennedys senior partner told the firm’s global partnership on a call that it needed to tackle a “pattern” of bullying and sexual harassment.
John Bruce warned the firm’s most senior lawyers that the firm had “seen an increase in concerns about behaviour at senior levels, both informal and formal, and this includes, unfortunately, allegations of both bullying and sexual harassment”.
Kennedys is far from the only firm where bullying and sexual harassment are occurring, which is ironic, as from a journalist’s perspective, certain law firms have been very vocal about their ‘good culture’ when speaking to the media.
So why is a sector that seems to be dripping in red tape a problem that a senior partner is addressing to his entire partnership? Well, it seems that, despite rules in place requiring the regulator to be notified, the SRA is being left out of the loop.
Nick Leale, partner at law firm CM Murray, told Morning Wire that “almost vanishingly small” proportions of internally investigated misconduct are ever reported to the SRA. He added that, alongside that, there is a view that the SRA doesn’t “keep a very good record” of the reports it receives, such as a breakdown of the types of alleged misconduct.
And as there are huge reputational issues for law firms when it comes to alleged bullying, especially alleged sexual harassment, going on internally, there are incentives to keep the worst of it inside the building and not in a report with the regulator.
Although Kennedys confirmed to Morning Wire that it referred its concern ‘pattern’ of bullying and sexual harassment to the SRA. Bruce said, “Yes, any concerns that fall short of our own expectations and the SRA’s code of conduct are self-reported to the SRA.”
The problem is that the SRA does not have the proper resources, and its previous strategy was too focused on putting out fires over its reputation following the fallout from a couple of firms, including Axiom Ince, and its recent focus on SLAPPS, which it then faced defeats in court when challenged.
Leale highlighted that while the SRA are receiving “a low level of internal reports by law firms”, “they are getting double the number of reports into their investigations unit and into their regulatory side each month”.
“I think I’ve read that the best case scenario is that a year and a half ago, they were getting about 1,500 reports a month, now they are getting about 2,500 a month,” he explained, as a result of an influx of AI usage by the public who want to make a complaint about a lawyer.
The influx of reports to the regulator has become such a problem that the new head of the watchdog said it needs to expand its regulatory demands, which will require extra funding. Individual solicitors currently pay nearly £400 annually, while firms pay a percentage of their revenues.
“The expectations on us have been growing and . . . the number of reports has been growing,” Sarah Rapson told the Financial Times last month. “In order to be the kind of regulator that we need to be, it does need to be properly invested in.”
The billable hours might be high at top law firms, and the stress might be intense, but there is no excuse to treat colleagues poorly. As culture becomes more of a sellable asset for hiring and retaining good talent, especially for Gen-Z, law firms need to start cleaning up its culture, and fast.
Eyes on the Law is a weekly column by Maria Ward-Brennan focused on the legal sector.