Late
last
year, Biglaw
firm
Baker
McKenzie filed
a
defamation
lawsuit against
a
former
tax
associate,
Brooke
Radford,
alleging
Radford
made
repeated
allegations
on
social
media
and
Reddit
—
some
100+
of
them
—–falsely
accusing
a
partner
of
sexually
assaulting
her
and
accusing
the
firm
of
covering
it
up.
According
to
that
complaint,
Radford
said
she
was
assaulted
by
Maurice
Bellan
(also
a
plaintiff
in
the
lawsuit)
and
was
terminated
by
the
firm
when
she
turned
down
the
partner’s
advances.
According
to
the
amended
complaint,
Radford
had
a
relationship
with Bellan’s
son,
Maurice
“Reece”
Alexander
Bellan.
Reece
ended
the
two-year
relationship
shortly
before
Radford
was
fired
from
the
firm
—
Baker
McKenzie
alleges
Radford
was
fired
for
misusing
the
firm
credit
card,
among
other
issues
—
and,
according
to
the
complaint,
that
confluence
of
events
led
Radford
to
target
Bellan
Sr.
with
her
false
accusations.
But
litigation
has
a
way
of
boomeranging,
and
Radford
has
now
responded
with
a
lawsuit
of
her
own.
This
latest
complaint,
available
below,
has
a
decidedly
different
spin.
Radford
alleges
Bellan
Sr.
engaged
in
a
pattern
of
sexually
inappropriate
conduct,
including
pulling
her
onto
him
on
a
couch
and
forcefully
hugging
her
on
another
occasion.
She
also
describes
an
incident
in
which
Bellan
Sr.
allegedly
left
his
hotel
room
door
open
so
colleagues
could
find
him
naked
on
the
bed,
not
exactly
the
kind
of
team-building
exercise
HR
recommends.
Radford,
representing
herself
in
both
actions,
goes
on
to
allege
Bellan
Sr.
posted
her
home
address
online,
stalked
her,
and
sent
people
to
her
residence
and
places
she
frequented.
Radford’s
complaint
also
alleges
Baker
McKenzie
“knew
of
this
sexually
harassing
conduct
and
failed
to
take
prompt,
effective,
or
reasonable
steps
to
stop
it,
prevent
it
from
reoccurring,
or
protect”
her.
She
claims
Bellan
Sr.
made
unwanted
sexual
advances,
chastised
her
after
she
told
him
she
and
his
son
“were
not
romantically
compatible,”
and
that
her
refusal
ultimately
cost
her
her
job.
Baker
McKenzie
has
not
commented
on
the
new
lawsuit,
but
previously
said
there
is”no
merit
to
Ms.
Radford’s
allegations.”
A
spokesperson
continued,
“We’ve
attempted
to
pursue
a
dialogue
to
try
to
address
her
purported
concerns,
but
she
has
not
engaged
with
these
efforts.
The
firm
takes
all
allegations
of
harassment
very
seriously
and
is
committed
to
providing
a
safe
and
inclusive
working
environment
for
all
of
our
people.”
Radford
reiterated
a
prior
statement
when
asked
for
comment,
“My
family
and
I
are
concerned
about
our
safety
and
we
are
disgusted
by
how
far
Baker
McKenzie
is
willing
to
stoop
to
protect
a
predator.”
These
very
different
stories
and
dueling
lawsuits
ensure
one
thing:
this
fight
isn’t
staying
quiet.
Biglaw
Lawsuit
Against
Former
Associate
Is
Actually
Messy
As
Hell
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter
@Kathryn1 or
Mastodon
@[email protected].