header-logo header-logo

Misconduct & sexual misbehaviour: blurred lines?

07 November 2019 / John Gould
Issue: 7863 / Categories: Features , Regulatory , Profession , Professional negligence
printer mail-detail
10904
In the age of #MeToo, what kind of misconduct could cross the line into the domain of a legal regulator? John Gould examines the role & limits of professional discipline
  • It is not the proper function of legal regulators to cast themselves as instruments of social change, nor to police sexual morality or general bad behaviour.
  • The key question is whether misconduct represents an ongoing risk that a person is not fit to practise.

`Sexual intercourse began In nineteen sixty-three (which was rather late for me)— Between the end of the “Chatterley” ban And the Beatles’ first LP’

I have no reason to think—although I haven’t checked—that Philip Larkin was ever a member of a disciplinary tribunal. Had he been forced to sit in judgement on the sexual conduct of other poets, he may have struggled to know where to start. He may have wondered whether the ethical standards of an artist were relevant to the quality of their art. He may have worried that

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve reports on Haynes v Thomson, the first judicial application of the Supreme Court’s For Women Scotland ruling in a discrimination claim, in this week's NLJ
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
Artificial intelligence may be revolutionising the law, but its misuse could wreck cases and careers, warns Clare Arthurs of Penningtons Manches Cooper in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll