The
spotlight
is
on
Jeffrey
Bronheim,
the
former
London
managing
partner
of
Cohen
&
Gresser,
who
is
now
under
investigation
by
the
U.K.’s
Solicitors
Regulation
Authority
(SRA).
And
if
you
thought
this
was
going
to
be
a
mild
HR
hiccup,
buckle
up:
according
to
reporting
from
Law.com,
the
allegations
include
sexual
harassment,
repeated
inappropriate
conduct,
and
a
pattern
of
behavior
that
made
multiple
women
at
the
firm
uncomfortable.
Sources
told
Law.com
that
Bronheim
allegedly
engaged
in
sexual
harassment
of
a
staff
member
on
multiple
occasions
between
2022
and
2023.
The
conduct
reportedly
included
both
verbally
inappropriate
comments
and
physically
inappropriate
behavior.
There
are
also
claims
that
Bronheim
made
unwanted
physical
contact,
purchased
or
discussed
“items
of
a
personal
nature,”
and
acted
inappropriately
toward
other
female
staff.
Several
women
also
reported
feeling
excluded
from
work-related
social
gatherings
because
of
his
behavior
—
which
is
certainly
one
way
to
poison
a
workplace
culture.
According
to
a
spokesperson,
when
they
firm
learned
of
the
allegations
they
“initiated
a
thorough,
independent
investigation,
which
included
interviews
of
every
current
employee
and
partner
with
knowledge
of
the
facts
and
circumstances,”
and
he
was
“immediately
removed
as firm managing
partner.”
The
spokesperson
continued
that
Bronheim
“was
instructed
to
work remotely,
and was
restricted
from
attending
in-person
firm
activities
while
the
matter
was
under
review,”
and
he
was
required
to
“undergo
one-on-one
sensitivity
coaching.”
“[Bronheim]
subsequently
chose
not
to
return
to
the
office
as
a
partner
and
instead
requested
to
transition
to
an
external
part-time
consulting
role,
which
the
firm’s
management
accepted,”
the
firm’s
statement
read.
But
Bronheim
insists
it
wasn’t
a
demotion
from
partner,
but
a
career
choice
he
made.
As
Bronhem
told
Law.com,
“In
fact,
the
investigation
concluded
and
I
was
scheduled
to
return
to
the
office.
Instead,
I
decided
to
resign
my
London
partnership
while
remaining
a
part-time
consultant
to
the
New
York
office
of
the
firm
and pursuing
other
interests
in
London.”
However,
this
chapter
of
Bronheim’s
story
isn’t
over.
There’s
still
the
matter
of
the
SRA
investigation.
Cohen
&
Gresser
self-reported
to
the
regulators
and
turned
over
their
250-page
report
on
the
matter.
An
SRA
spokesperson
said,
“We
are
investigating
this
matter,
before
deciding
on next steps.”
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].