Legal Futures reports…..
The “extremely drunk” senior partner of a London law firm has been fined £10,000 for touching a paralegal on the bottom and kissing her on the neck while sitting next to her in a bar.
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) also criticised the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s (SRA) approach to the prosecution and the costs it sought to recover.
In February 2018, Geoffrey Howard Julian Critchlow, who has been in practice for 36 years, had “an extended lunch at a wine bar in London” with two colleagues.
At around 5pm, a friend of Mr Critchlow’s and client of the firm joined them, and at some point after 7pm, the solicitor invited other members of the firm to come and join them – five people, including ‘Person A’, a recently recruited paralegal, did so.
Mr Critchlow said he was already drunk when Person A arrived “but became significantly more inebriated thereafter”. The SRA accepted that he was “extremely drunk” at the time.
He admitted touching Person A on the leg on more than once, rubbing her back, kissing the back of her neck, resting his head on her shoulder and touching her bottom.
He accepted that “he ought to have known that such conduct was not wanted or invited”.
The SDT said he had shown a lack of integrity and had failed to behave in a way that maintained the trust the public placed in him and in the provision of legal services.
The fact he was senior partner and she was a young paralegal who had just joined the firm was an aggravating factor, but on the other side the SDT said Mr Critchlow immediately recognised that his behaviour was unacceptable and should not have occurred.
He self-reported to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) within six weeks, fully apologised to Person A and his firm paid for her to have independent legal advice concerning the incident.
When she left the firm shortly afterwards, his firm paid her £13,000 as part of a settlement agreement.
Mr Critchlow was at the time senior partner and COLP of Al Bawardi Critchlow Solicitors – since renamed Costigan King – and is now a non-executive director and consultant.
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Geoffrey Howard Julian Critchlow
Solicitor
128669
Decision – Prosecution
Outcome: Referral to Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal
Outcome date: 18 December 2018
Published date: 9 May 2019
Firm details
Firm or organisation at time of matters giving rise to outcome
Name: Critchlow and Associates Limited, trading at the material time as Al Bawardi Critchlow Solicitors
Address(es): Studio Suite, Quantum House, 22-24 Red Lion Court, London EC4A 3EB.
Firm ID: 628094
Firm or organisation at date of publication
Name: Critchlow and Associates Limited, trading formerly as Costigan King
Address(es): Studio Suite, Quantum House, 22-24 Red Lion Court, London EC4A 3EB
Firm ID: 628094
Outcome details
This outcome was reached by SRA decision.
Reasons/basis
This notification relates to a Decision to prosecute before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. This is an independent Tribunal which will reach its own decision after considering all the evidence, including any evidence put forward by the Solicitor. The Tribunal has certified that there is a case to answer in respect of allegations which are or include that, whilst in practice as a solicitor and the Senior Partner of Critchlow and Associates Limited, trading at the material time as Al Bawardi Critchlow Solicitors (“the Firm”), he acted towards Person A, an employee of the Firm, in a manner which was inappropriate in that, while at a wine bar, he:
- touched Person A’s leg on one or more occasion; and/or
- rubbed Person A’s back; and/or
- kissed the back of Person A’s neck; and/or
- rested his head on Person A’s shoulder; and/or
- touched Person A’s bottom.
in circumstances in which he knew or ought to have known that such conduct was not wanted or invited.
The allegations are subject to a Hearing before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal and are as yet unproven.
