Former Orrick senior associate Lewis Brady has been suspended for 12 months for inappropriately touching two colleagues during firm-related social events.
The SDT ruled that Brady’s conduct breached core SRA principles, including maintaining trust in the profession and showing integrity.
A former senior associate at Orrick in London has been suspended for 12 months after the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal found he had inappropriately touched two female colleagues during social events.
In its judgment, published on Thursday (19 June), the tribunal said Lewis Brady's behaviour undermined the reputation of the profession and that a 12-month suspension was therefore a proportionate sanction.
'Work hard, play hard' culture
Brady, who qualified in 2017, denied all nine allegations against him - seven brought by a paralegal (Person A) and two by a fellow senior associate (Person B).
He argued that the incidents took place outside of work and therefore the SRA's code of conduct ought not to apply. Brady also blamed Orrick’s "work hard, play hard" culture and pointed to his "confusing" and "very close" relationship with Person B, who was married. He said the two had exchanged around 10,000 personal messages in the 12 months after Brady joined Orrick from PwC.
Judgment
The SDT rejected Brady’s argument that the misconduct lay outside its remit and said that non-consensual touching can still breach core SRA principles even when it happens outside of work.
The tribunal upheld two allegations of inappropriate touching. One involved Brady touching Person A at a post-wine tasting team dinner. The other involved him touching Person B at a trainee handover dinner at Tayyabs Curry House in Whitechapel, where Orrick associates were celebrating record bonuses of £100,000, according to RollOnFriday.
Outcome
The tribunal accepted that Brady’s actions took place in a culture marked by heavy drinking where "the 'pushing of boundaries' was a commonly accepted aspect of social interaction." It also noted that the events happened shortly after lockdown.
None of these factors, however, excused his conduct.
The SDT decided that Brady’s actions, though not an abuse of his position, failed to maintain public trust and confidence in the profession and showed a lack of integrity.
He received a 12-month suspension and was also ordered to pay £95,000 in costs.
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