Eversheds Sutherland: Away day
A male former senior client development manager at Eversheds Sutherland who repeatedly grabbed a female colleague at an away day has been barred from the profession.
Jake Flint can only work for another law firm in future if the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) gives him permission, under the terms of an order under section 43 of the Solicitors Act 1974.
An SRA notice published this week said that Mr Flint – who worked at Eversheds between May 2021 and August 2022 – attended the firm’s business development and marketing department’s away day in July 2022. This involved socialising and an overnight stay at a hotel.
“After the event, when walking to the hotel with a group of colleagues, Mr Flint touched and grabbed the breast of one of his colleagues without her consent.
“On each occasion, his colleague told him that she did not want him to do so and asked him to stop.” Once at the hotel, Mr Flint put his arm around his colleague’s waist and touched her bottom, the SRA recounted. She again told him to stop. Another colleague intervened and spoke to Mr Flint about his conduct.
“Later in the same evening, Mr Flint approached his colleague again when she was ordering take away food with other colleagues. He put his hand on her upper thigh and asked her if they were eating food in his room or hers.”
Mr Flint admitted his conduct and accepted the imposition of the section 43 order.
The SRA said his conduct “meant that it was undesirable for him to be involved in a legal practice without the SRA’s prior approval”.
Mr Flint was also ordered to pay the SRA’s costs of £600.
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