Last
month, 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.
The
original
complaint
lists the
firm,
Bellan,
and
five
unnamed
firm
employees
(the
complaint
alleged
Radford
made
harassing
and
threatening
comments
to
them
as
well)
as
plaintiffs.
However,
that
complaint
was
rejected
by
the
court,
as
the
unnamed
employees
had
not
gotten
permission
to
use
pseudonyms.
But
earlier
this
month,
the
complaint
was
refiled
—
listing
only
the
firm
and
Bellan
as
plaintiffs.
And
wow,
it’s
messy
AF.
According
to
the
new
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.
As
the
complaint
states,
“Disappointed
with
both
outcomes,
Ms.
Radford
sought
retribution
from
the
common
denominator
—
Mr.
Bellan
—
by
intentionally
spreading
lies
about
him
to
destroy
his
reputation
and
the
reputation
of
his
firm.”
And
this
version
of
the
complaint
also
maintains
the
allegations
Radford
made
of
sexual
assault
are
“unequivocally
false.”
“Mr.
Bellan’s
relationship
with
Radford
was
strictly
professional,”
according
to
the
complaint.
“Mr.
Bellan
never
touched
Ms.
Radford
or
showed
any
romantic
or
inappropriate
attention
toward
her.”
The
new
complaint
also
tracks
the
change
in
allegations
Radford
made
about
Bellan
Sr.
as
the
“false
statements
about
Mr.
Bellan
changed
dramatically
between
late
July
and
mid-September
2025.”
In
July,
Radford
was
allegedly
making
an
“outrageous
lie
that
he
offered
her
$50,000”
to
have
his
grandchild,
and
she
claimed
she
was
fired
because
she
“chose
not
to.”
By
September,
Radford
“dramatically
changed
her
false
narrative,
from
Mr.
Bellan
bribing
her
to
have
his
grandchild
to
him
assaulting
her
and
other
women
and
that
Baker
attempted
to
cover
up
his
misconduct.”
Radford
has
not
commented
on
the
complaint.
A
Baker
McKenzie
spokesperson
said,
“We
are
confident
that
our
lawsuit
will
establish
there
is
no
merit
to
Ms.
Radford’s
allegations.
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.”
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].