A former partner at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has been referred to the UK Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) the legal watchdog agency over allegations of inappropriate behavior by Nicholas Williams towards an individual identified only as “person A”.
The referral comes in the wake of allegations of during an incident that occurred between December 20 and 21, 2017, while Williams was still a partner at the firm.
Williams was a partner since 2017 in the Magic Circle firm’s London disputes practice. He left the firm on 11 December after the firm launched an internal investigation into personal misconduct allegations.
The SRA stated that Williams has “a case to answer” regarding the allegations, which it described as “inappropriate and unwanted” conduct. Williams could not be reached for comment on the matter.
In 2019, Law.com International reported that Williams had departed from Freshfields following an internal investigation into his conduct. Sources at the time indicated that the allegations were related to the #MeToo movement, which brought to light numerous instances of inappropriate behavior directed against women.
Freshfields has been grappling with a series of incidents involving misconduct by its partners.
The most notable case involved former partner Ryan Beckwith.
The UK Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) fined Beckwith £35,000 and ordered him to pay £200,000 in legal costs following a similar, high-profile hearing over sexual activity with a junior lawyer in his team.
In response to these incidents, the firm introduced new conduct rules in 2019, under which partners could face severe reprimands and fines of up to 20 percent of their profit share for misconduct.
The SRA emphasized that the allegations against Williams are yet to be proven and will be subject to a hearing before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.
A spokesperson for Freshfields stated, “We are not a party to the SDT, or any related proceedings. The individual left the firm over four years ago. At the time, we looked into the concerns raised and took appropriate action.”
Freshfields stands at #17 on LawFuel’s ‘most prestigious law firms’ list.
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