A married senior partner at one of the City’s ‘Magic Circle’ law firms was left with a £235,000 bill after engaging in sexual activity with a junior colleague following work drinks.

Ryan Beckwith resigned from Freshfields Bruckhause Deringer LLP immediately after a Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal panel ruled he had failed to act with integrity and had brought the profession into disrepute.

He and the woman had joined other colleagues at a Fleet Street pub back in 2016 where the woman claimed to have been plied with jagerbombs and two bottles of wine on an empty stomach.

The 20-year-old, known as Person A throughout the nine-day hearing, said Beckwith ‘tricked’ his way into her flat before waking to find him telling her she had ‘nice tits’ and asking if her flatmate had a condom.

An SDT panel made no finding on the issue of consent and Beckwith has not been found guilty of any criminal offence, but he was told he should have known better than to have engaged with a junior colleague whose judgement may have been impaired through drink.

He was fined £35,000 and ordered to pay £200,000 costs, but will be allowed to continue practising law.

Harriet Wistrich, a campaigning solicitor who runs the Centre for Women’s Justice, told The Times that the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) should consider asking the police to investigate.

‘Although the SDT did not specifically focus on the issue of consent, the sexual misconduct described comes very close to meeting the threshold for an offence of rape, given acknowledgement of the complainant’s incapacitated state,’ she said.

The woman initially did not report the incident, either to the firm or to authorities.

Beckwith, who is still with his wife, received an email from Person A the following month accusing him of taking advantage of her.

It added: ‘You bought me too many drinks, more than most people could handle.’

The senior lawyer, who described her account as a ‘complete fabrication’, left the young woman’s flat after a call from his unsuspecting wife at 4am.

Another allegation over an alleged ‘unwanted ‘kiss on the head’ was found not proved.

Panel chair Nicola Lucking said: ‘The respondent engaged in sexual activity which, in fairness, he has never denied.

‘The respondent knew or ought to have known that Person A was intoxicated to the extent that her judgement was impaired.

‘In all circumstances the respondent knew or out to have known that his conduct was inappropriate.’

Following the decision Alasdair Williamson QC, representing Beckwith, said ‘the findings of the tribunal renders all to dust’ for him.

‘He has been crushed by this process; he has damaged himself, he has damaged Person A and I hope that you will hold clearly before you the moving character evidence you have heard that he is a man who will bear this mark forever,’ Mr Williamson added.

‘He is a man who, other than this blemish, is a shining example of this profession.’

Mr Williamson told the hearing Person A’s story changed after she underwent therapy.

He added that she ‘says herself that it took a process of therapy for her to understand what had happened to her’

Paraphrasing her original position he said: ‘We both f**ked up, you are my married boss, what a cliche.’

Senior Freshfield’s Partner Edward Braham commented: ‘We note the ruling of the SDT tribunal earlier today.

‘Ryan Beckwith has been on indefinite leave from the firm for some time and has now resigned as a partner with immediate effect.

‘The firm takes all complaints extremely seriously. We want a culture that is welcoming and allows our people to flourish, and we work hard to achieve that.

‘We are running a firm-wide programme to ensure our values and behaviours are consistently experienced across the firm, and I am confident that we will continue to achieve change where it is needed.’

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