Ex-Freshfields lawyer says incident with married partner left her with mental health problems
A former Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer lawyer told a court today that an alleged incident of non-consensual sexual activity with a married partner at the firm had left her feeling “absolutely terrible” and in need of ongoing mental health support.
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal heard the lawyer give evidence from behind a screen about the allegations against partner Ryan Beckwith – who denies wrongdoing.
The lawyer, known as Person A, said Beckwith had shared an Uber to her flat after an evening of drinking in a City pub that left her “really very impaired”.
“I remember thinking ‘he’s buying us a lot of drinks’ and would buy one when I already had a full one,” she said.
She said Beckwith had got into her Uber, despite the fact they lived in different neighbourhoods, and when it arrived at her flat, asked to use her bathroom.
After Beckwith entered the bathroom she said the next thing she remembered was sitting on her bed with no jeans or underwear on and Beckwith sitting on the floor in front of her.
“I was repeating ‘you are a partner, you are married, why are you here? I don’t feel comfortable,” she said.
Later, she said Beckwith had climbed on top of her.
“I’d had so much to drink that was unable to push him off or anything like that,” she said.
Person A left the firm shortly after the alleged incident which she did not initially report.
“I thought a lot about reporting it to the police… you read a lot about how awful it is doing that,” she said.
She eventually reported the incident to the firm which launched an internal investigation that resulted in Beckwith receiving a final written warning.
Person A said she decided to escalate the incident at that point, writing to the firm’s senior partner to complain that her experience had not been taken seriously enough.
“I had concerns that my experience hadn’t been taken seriously and that was reflected in a sanction that in my view wasn’t proportionate or serious enough,” she said.
She said the incident, which happened in 2016, had left her with ongoing mental health problems.
“I do still struggle with the incident,” she said, “ I still see my therapist every week and I take medication to help me with low moods and anxiety.”
Person A said Beckwith had tried to kiss her previously after a drunken office outing to Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons in Oxford.
She said that after the group returned to London a number of them, including Beckwith, continued to drink at a karaoke bar and a nightclub.
Person A said Beckwith tried to kiss her while the pair stood at the bar.
She said she immediately pulled away and said something like “why are you doing that or stop doing that”.
She said Beckwith was so drunk that he “fell asleep in the bar”.
Person A said Beckwith could “hardly walk” and she and her colleagues put him into a black cab to take him home.
“He was lying in the base of the taxi on the floor and we closed the door and he drove off,” she said.
Person A is set to be cross-examined by Beckwith’s lawyer tomorrow on what would be the third day of a 10 day hearing.
The case continues.