‘Sexually motivated’
A facilities assistant has been barred from working in the legal profession after purchasing “items of an inappropriate nature” for junior female colleagues at national law firm TLT.
John Enright, who worked in the business services department of the firm’s Manchester offices between January 2019 and July 2024, has been made subject to a section 43 order following a decision published by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).
According to the regulator, between February and April 2024, Enright “identified and selected” employees based on a “visual assessment of them in the workplace.” He then obtained certain items, which he claimed had been supplied to him free of charge when they had actually been purchased by him. The ruling does not specify what the items were.
The former TLT staffer also contacted the employees via the firm’s internal messaging system and sent them “inappropriate and unwanted messages”.
The SRA found that those targeted “felt increasingly uncomfortable” as a result of his behaviour, but were initially reluctant to come forward. Each had independently experienced feelings of “isolation” and “intimidation”, and feared that making a report could damage their career prospects and reputation given their relatively junior standing at the firm.
When confronted by the firm, Enright initially denied obtaining the items at his own expense. He only admitted the true nature of his behaviour when later presented with evidence seized from his workstation, the regulator said.
The SRA described the behaviour as involving “a clear and calculated pattern” that was “sexually motivated”, and noted that Enright had considered it “an alternative outlet to his previous problems with alcohol addiction.”
The regulator concluded that the conduct “undermines public trust and confidence in solicitors and in the provision of legal services when individuals fail to act with integrity and in a way that supports equality, diversity and inclusion.”
Enright has been made subject to a section 43 order under the Solicitors Act 1974, preventing him from being employed by any SRA-regulated firm without the regulator’s prior permission. He has also been ordered to pay £300 in costs.
A TLT spokesperson told Legal Cheek:
“In 2024, when concerns were raised, we investigated, dismissed Mr Enright and notified the SRA.”