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    • trusts_and_estates_planeDealwatch: Elite firms land $4.7bn Signature Aviation deal as Euro SPAC market expects to flyNathalie Tidman
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        • art deco-style 2020s airship in LondonNot a roaring start to the 2020s but bravery is key
        • Not a roaring start to the 2020s but bravery is key
        • Failings in Beckwith prosecution undermine #MeToo fight and muzzle regulator
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      • ldl_samantha_mobleyLife During Law: Samantha MobleyNathalie Tidman
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Analysis

Full disclosure – How to resolve the profession’s #MeToo problem

Power imbalances, toxic working practices and alcohol have forced the legal profession to hold up a mirror to itself. What should be done to solve law’s #MeToo problem?

Posted on 10 December 2019 09:30am6 December 2019 13:00pm
Nathalie Tidman and Muna Abdi
Legal regulation LeadershipPartnership

‘If you’re a partner and in control of someone’s career, that is an unequal relationship. Repeated drunken flings are not the work of a balanced, responsible partner. Could she have realistically said no? He was in control of her. He was her boss.’

So says one City employment veteran of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) prosecution and subsequent departure in October of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer restructuring partner Ryan Beckwith, following findings of sexual misconduct with a junior member of staff. It reveals uncomfortable truths about why, with its esoteric partnership structure and pressure-cooker working conditions, the legal industry is more susceptible than many to the fallout from #MeToo allegations and the behaviour that fuels them.

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    • The Global 100 – contents
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    • Leader: Not a roaring start to the 2020s but bravery is key
    • Pritchard: Failings in Beckwith prosecution undermine #MeToo fight and muzzle regulator
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    • Life During Law: Samantha Mobley
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    • The Global 100 – The stories of the year

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