An male employee at national firm TLT has been barred from working in the legal profession after making unwanted sexual approaches to female members of staff.
A decision notice published by the Solicitors Regulation Authority states that John Enright, a non-solicitor employed as a facilities manager in the Manchester office, targeted junior and female colleagues for the attention. These employees were not people with whom Enright worked during the course of his contracted duties and he selected the women based upon a visual assessment.
The SRA said that Enright, who worked for the firm for five and a half years, obtained items of an ‘inappropriate nature’ to give these women. He also contacted them via the firm’s internal messaging system and sent them inappropriate and unwanted messages.
This continued for more than two months, and the employees felt increasingly uncomfortable as a result of Enright’s behaviour, experiencing feelings of isolation and intimidation. They initially felt reluctant to report Enright’s conduct as they were concerned for the potential impact that such reports could have upon their career prospects and reputations given their relatively junior status in the firm.
Once reported, the SRA said it emerged there had been a ‘clear pattern of sexually motivated conduct by Mr Enright which was targeted at a particular type of employee'.
When confronted by the firm, Enright firstly denied buying the inappropriate items but then admitted his conduct based on evidence seized from his workstation.
He agreed, and the SRA accepted, that his conduct towards the women means it is undesirable for him to be involved in a legal practice without prior permission from the regulator. A section 43 notice was issued to him to enforce this.
The firm has been approached for comment.
