The #Metoo movement seems to follow Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer like a very bad smell, but the latest issue involves a Freshfield’s woman partner whose conduct in respect of the investigation of a rape complaint involving a UBS bank employee has come under scrutiny from the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).
The Financial Times reported that Freshfields employment partner Caroline Stroud was being investigated by the watchdog for her conduct in dealing with a review of the investment bank’s handling of a rape allegation.
Caroline Stroud is an experienced commercial litigator specialising in employment issues, including investigations of misconduct by regulators.
Freshfields said in a statement ‘We refute the allegations’, made against Stroud after she was drafted in by UBS to review the way in which the bank investigated a complaint of an alleged rape victim against a colleague.
Nevertheless, the SRA has seen fit to launch a probe into the allegations, but would not be drawn on the timeframe. A spokesperson for the SRA said: ‘We are investigating before deciding on any next steps. Our work on this matter continues, but we cannot discuss any details about our work while it is ongoing.’
The regulator is reportedly reviewing complaints that Stroud did not make her role in acting for UBS clear to the alleged victim, referred to as ‘Ms A’, something that the firm and Stroud apparently deny.
The #Metoo issue is something Freshfields would not be happy about following the issues involving partner Ryan Beckwith (pictured left) who last year was fined by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal regarding inappropriate sexual conduct with a junior lawyer, which prompted the firm to reform is practices over the manner in which such behaviour is handled.
The growth of the #Metoo movement and the criticism faced by regulators has seen increasingly stern measures taken over the handling of complaints of this nature.
Freshfields, it seems, is once again at the forefront of #Metoo matters, just when it must have thought they were being left behind.
Latest Law Firm News From LawFuel
- What Does the KPMG Scandal Means for Law Firms and Internal Investigations
- Kennedy’s Report 12th Year of Growth As The Firm Moves Towards Its $1 Billion Target
- The OpenAI Defense: Inside the Wachtell Trial Team That Just Beat Elon Musk
While Elon Musk’s legal team tried to transform a federal courtroom in Oakland, California into an existential debate about the fate of human civilization and a “stolen charity,” Sam Altman’s defenders quietly built a procedural guillotine. A unanimous nine-member federal advisory jury took less than two hours to reject all of Musk’s claims against OpenAI, CEO Sam Altman, and President Greg Brockman, which presumably was both surprising and disappointing for the multi-billionaire. U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers immediately adopted the verdict from the bench, dismissing the case in full. The same statute-of-limitations finding wiped out Musk’s aiding-and-abetting claim against Microsoft, an early backer of OpenAI’s for-profit arm. Log in to the the lawyer profiles . . . - The $8 Billion Fight That Shows Why Litigation Is Still the City’s Ultimate Blood Sport
A monster battle is unfolding in the sprawling claim against audit powerhouse PwC, born from the spectacular implosion of Chinese property behemoth China Evergrande, the most indebted property group in the world. Senior silks like Richard Handyside KC, the Fountain Court Chambers’ Head, are facing off against those from 3 Verulam Buildings (3VB) where Adrian Beltrami KC represents the liquidators as they battle over allegations of negligence and misrepresentation in the $8.4 billion battle. The numbers are eye-watering, even by City standards. Evergrande’s liquidators (led by Alvarez & Marsal’s Edward Middleton and Tiffany Wong) are pursuing 57 billion yuan (roughly $8.4 billion) in damages from PwC International, PwC Hong Kong, and PwC’s mainland China arm. They allege serious audit negligence and misrepresentation in the years leading up to Evergrande’s historic collapse, a King-sized property failure in a long list of major property failures. Log in to read more . . . - Paul Weiss Loses Two More Litigation Partners As Rivals Keep Picking Off Its Bench
- Panel Games: Revolut’s New Legal Model is a Quarterly Hunger Games for Big Law
If you’re a partner at a Magic Circle firm currently leaning back in your Herman Miller chair, comforted by the warmth of a three-year panel appointment, you might want to sit up. The fintech disruptor that refuses to play by the rules is, predictably, about to break yours. Revolut, the neobank recently valued at a staggering $45 billion following a secondary share sale (with some internal projections whispering closer to $75 billion), is officially binning the traditional legal panel model. In its place comes “Revolut Partners,” a system designed to treat law firms less like venerable institutions and more like high-performance software vendors. Log in to read more . . - The Happiest Lawyers In America Work At These Firms — And The Race For #1 Is Now A Photo Finish
Vault’s 2026-2027 rankings reveal O’Melveny still leads on satisfaction by a hair, Morgan Lewis took the overall crown, and Ropes & Gray jumped 36 spots. Vault just dropped its 2026-2027 Best Law Firms to Work For rankings, and for anyone watching BigLaw’s talent map, the satisfaction data is the most useful slice on the platter. It tells you, in cold associate-survey numbers, where lawyers are actually happy versus merely well-paid — and right now those two things are diverging at the top end of the market in interesting ways. Log in to see who won the industry record . .
