Ex-Linklaters employee banned for “serious sexual misconduct”


Linklaters: Events followed team away day

A former employee of Linklaters has been made subject to controls on his future employment in the profession over “serious sexual misconduct” targeted at a junior colleague.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has issued a section 43 order against Vivek Ramsaroop, whose last known address was in Johannesburg, South Africa.

As a result, he cannot work for a law firm in England and Wales without the regulator’s consent.

An SRA notice published yesterday that the events in question took place at a firm-organised social event in November 2022. Following an offsite team event, dinner and drinks, a number of attendees, including Mr Ramsaroop and ‘Employee A’ went to a karaoke bar.

“Whilst at the karaoke bar Mr Ramsaroop approached Employee A and stood closely to her talking and said the words ‘you’re gorgeous’ and ‘you’re amazing’. He then put his arm around Employee A’s waist and kissed the side of her face making contact with her cheek for several seconds.

“Shortly afterwards Mr Ramsaroop started dancing directly behind Employee A, grabbed her waist with both hands and touched her bottom. Mr Ramsaroop started rubbing himself against Employee A on the dancefloor with his pelvis pressed against Employee A’s bottom.”

This constituted “serious sexual misconduct” as defined by the SRA’s guidance on sexual misconduct “as it involved physical contact and intentional actions which were repeated and which were directed at a junior colleague”.

Mr Ramsaroop was also ordered to pay a proportion of the SRA’s costs of £1,350.




Leave a Comment

By clicking Submit you consent to Legal Futures storing your personal data and confirm you have read our Privacy Policy and section 5 of our Terms & Conditions which deals with user-generated content. All comments will be moderated before posting.

Required fields are marked *
Email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Blog


Civil enforcement – progress at last with CJC report

‘When do I get my money?’ is a question that litigators acting for successful parties are used to fielding. The value of judgments is of course in the recovery made.


Paralegals: Progression and recognition are key to retaining talent

Many lawyers could not do their jobs without the support of paralegals and for law firms to remain competitive, paralegals need to be central to their business.


PII excess: a growing risk for consultant solicitors

As more solicitors choose to work as consultants, a concerning contractual trend has emerged – the passing of professional indemnity insurance excess liabilities onto consultants.


Loading animation