Pleaded guilty to two offences
A former law firm employee must obtain permission from the regulator to work in the profession again after assaulting two colleagues during a night out.
Ian Bond, a former employee of Devon law firm Patterson Law, joined other staff members at a local nightclub after the firm’s summer party, where he touched two colleagues in an “inappropriate” and “sexual manner”.
The firm launched an investigation after one of the victims made a formal complaint. The firm confronted Bond with the complaint, along with several others raised by his colleagues. In October 2021, he resigned from the firm after working there for two and a half years.
A report was made to the police and after a criminal investigation, Bond was charged with two offences of assault by beating. He pleaded guilty to both offences at Exeter Combined Court earlier this year.
Bond was ordered to complete 50 hours of unpaid community work, abstain from alcohol for 120 days, participate in a rehabilitation activity for a maximum of ten days, and pay £500 compensation to each of his victims.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has now dished out its own punishment, making Bond subject to section 43 order. This prevents him from working for a regulated law firm without the SRA’s approval.