Harlem Solicitors has requested proof from young lawyers who have accused its principal partner, Babatunde Lawal, alias Big Law, of sexual impropriety.
The law firm made its position public in a statement signed by Big Law on Tuesday.
“Our attention has been drawn to the barrage of allegations of a defamatory nature flying in some quarters, particularly on Twitter. But while we have been constrained to issue this official statement in good faith and on the basis of the integrity, fairness, and dire need to uphold the prestigious assurances and expose.quested sacrosanctity of the legal profession, our intention in making it is far removed from any attempt to join issues with any of these allegations,” the statement read in part.
“We also feel that this is a time that silence is not golden, especially in the face of the numerous calls we have received from family members, our esteemed clients, friends, colleagues, and associates.
“We, therefore, ask any intern or staff, former or onboard, who alleges that her sexual rights have been abused to provide strong, substantial, and cogent evidence in support of their allegations.
“This is also in light of the reputational risk and defamation of character the allegations constitute. It is trite law that he who asserts must prove.”
READ ALSO: Young Lawyers Accuse Harlem Solicitors’ Principal Partner of Sexual Harassment, Exploitation
On Monday, EQToday reported sexual misconduct claims against the firm’s managing partner and its near-suicidal commitment to work requirements for legal interns after a me-too movement against the law firm was ignited by a viral tweet.
Several young lawyers took to Twitter to recount their harrowing experiences as interns with Harlem Solicitors, including sexual harassment, arbitrary termination, failed payment promises, refusal to provide certificates, insults for minor errors and failure to meet unreasonable conditions.
The law firm has, however, labelled the allegations defamatory and asked the accusers to come forward with strong evidence.
In response to claims made by two former Harlem Solicitors interns, Joan Edegbai and Joy Ayara, Big Law told EQToday:
“She wrote that ‘practises and behaviours at Harlem is (sic) one directly in line with good values.’ But when she committed an infraction and was not paid like her mates, she turned against me. As a lawyer she is; is that right?”
His comment was in reference to Edegbai’s appraisal of Harlem on her internship exit form and on the company’s website.
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And the infraction, according to him, was that Edegbai was voted the most backward intern by all her colleagues, and as a result, she was fired.
This was a misrepresentation of events, said Edegbai. In a long message to EQToday, she wrote:
“The evidence is other interns who experienced the same. It is not just me. His termination did not come immediately after that vote. It came immediately when he asked if I had reposted a poorly designed flyer, and I answered no because I didn’t have data. He ordered my termination immediately. If he claims interns voted me out, let him provide evidence of other interns voting me out. Let him also prove that this is Kiki’s handwriting..
“Secondly, other associates can testify that I was up and doing! People who managed me directly. What I wrote about Harlem was under duress. Who would write things against a firm when you’re clearly still in their custody? No reasonable man would!
“Whatever a fellow intern had to say about me was about protecting and preserving their space! He forced us all to choose an intern to evict. I was always up and doing and answering questions in the class. Not once did I prove to be backward.
“His claims are false and purport to exonerate himself from all his atrocities. He must prove that other interns wanted me to leave. Let him provide the vote sheets of other interns, showing they all voted me out! And he must prove those handwritings came from them all.”
Similar to his rebuttal of Edegbai’s tweets, he wrote EQToday about Ayara’s claims, saying, “By the way, above were her comments in writing about the internship.”
This, he said, was in reference to her comments about Harlem Solicitors on her internship exit form.
“Harlem Solicitors is characterised by a culture and policies that I have not seen anywhere else. It is strict and gives almost no room for mistakes and excuses,” Arara wrote on her form.
In response, Ayara said she did nothing to prove she was backward at work and that she did not dispute sending those messages to him because she wanted to just conclude her internship.
Same 2021 too. He told me I have hot legs, rub my palm whenever I shake him. Said I am his spec so his wife will not be bothered seeing me with him. Kept asking about my relationship life. Forced hug me.— Simply Law (@joy_ayara) August 14, 2023
“I completed my internship, I wrote the exam, and I was even the highest scorer. But because he said I was badly behaved, they gave it to the second guy. There was this video presentation I was asked to do that I didn’t do. I was supposed to do it the following day, but I had to travel. I left Ibadan the following day because I was not based there. I was only there because of the internship. I cashed the check the day before.”
“The message I sent apologising was sometime in May, and that was because this man talked me down and made me feel as if I couldn’t do anything in law, and I was in the wrong career.
“He makes you feel like you can’t excel in this profession and makes you feel less of yourself, as if you’re not doing well. I had to call a motivational speaker to motivate me.
“He is a very terrible man and harasses all the people that work in his law firm, and he uses people.
“The interns were the cleaners, and when I refused to clean, he called me a failure in front of everybody. I owned a blog, and he said the blog would not give me the opportunities that his law firm would give me.”
Even though it has been days since the allegations surfaced, more people have continue to share experiences that affirm those of Ayara.
In a recent tweet, a former paralegal at the firm said she was the gateman, generator girl, cleaner and admin officer all in one.
Lmaooo, it’s HARLEM Solicitors. I worked there for almost three months as a paralegal, my designated role was “client service relationship officer on paper” but guess who was the gateman, generator girl, cleaner, admin officer, executive assistant??all in one— tunmie (@tunmie__) August 15, 2023
Other ex-interns have also told EQToday that they were not surprised by Big Law’s response.
“I am not surprised,” Adeola* an ex-intern who has also accused Harlem Solicitors’ principal partner of sexually harassing her said.
“He knows that other than corroborative reports among interns, it will be difficult to provide proof of sexual harassment. That’s what he did to me. He told my colleagues that I was performing poorly, and that’s why I was fired; meanwhile, it was because I rejected his advances.”
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Big Law has also denied the allegations of underpayment of interns.
“This is not true,” he said. “Visit our LinkedIn page to see pictures on display. Last year, we gave the last batch N500,000. Batch A-2023 got N200,000, while the just-concluded Batch got N300,000. It’s all there on our pages with pictorial evidence.”
“I, as the Principal Partner, am not perfect; only God is, but all my interns who finished without a hitch would not accuse me of these grave wrongdoings as a disciplined man.”
He had asked EQToday to take down the report or face legal recourse, accusing us of bias and being paid to run the story.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Bar Association, Ibadan branch, has asked lawyers who are victims of the allegations against Big Law to submit their complaints and evidence to the branch secretary or send them via email at nigerianbarassociationibadan@gmail.com on or before 4 pm on Thursday, August 17.
The post Harlem Solicitors Denies Sexual Harassment Claims, Asks Ex-Interns to Provide Strong Evidence appeared first on EQ expose.quest.