Law firm boss who harassed a junior colleague for two months, claiming talking to her was better than sex, is banned for five years

A law firm boss who routinely harassed a young female colleague and claimed talking to her was better than having sex has been banned from the profession for five years.

Takeshige Sugimoto, a partner at the firm, was fired after sending the junior legal counsel nearly a thousand messages in two months as he desperately tried to persuade her to start a romantic relationship.

A Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) heard the lawyer bombarded her with inappropriate messages and professed his ‘love’ for her.

This included saying to the junior employee late at night via WhatsApp: ‘Me meeting you is a much stronger pleasure for me than having sex with anyone else.’

Despite her repeatedly telling him she wasn’t interested, he told her he fell in love with her just days after she started working at the company, and later asked her, “Don’t you like me having sex with other girls? ‘.

Takeshige Sugimoto (pictured) was fired after sending the junior legal adviser almost a thousand messages in two months as he desperately tried to persuade her to start a romantic relationship

He has now been banned from practicing as a lawyer in Britain for five years and ordered to pay costs of £36,000 after the tribunal found he ‘used the balance of power created by his seniority to abuse her’ to make’.

The hearing was told that Mr Sugimoto started working as a manager and partner at Bird and Bird in the UK and Belgium, based in the Brussels branch, on June 14, 2018.

The junior consultant – identified only as Person B – started working for the company the following year.

Mr. Sugimoto invited her to dinner on her first day, which he said was a tradition for newcomers, and asked her if she had a boyfriend.

He then insisted on taking her home, despite her telling him several times that she preferred to walk alone, and he took her hand, which she withdrew.

Over the next two months, he would continue his inappropriate behavior, including organizing work meetings in which he would talk to her about personal matters – sometimes several times a day.

The tribunal heard that Mr Sugimoto’s behavior had a ‘profound’ effect on her.

He sent her 989 messages between January 22 and March 27, 2019, including one that read: “I’m literally falling in love with you,” just five days after she started work.

On February 1, 2019, he sent her WhatsApp messages at 11 p.m., including: “I can tell you that spending time with you is the happiest moment in my 37 years of my life.”

He added, “My existence tells me that you are the person I have been looking for.”

The hearing was told that Mr Sugimoto started working as a manager and partner at Bird and Bird in the UK and Belgium, based in the Brussels branch, on June 14, 2018 (pictured).

Further messaging shows he waited outside her home, begging to accompany her as she went shopping – “I will act as a shadow that won’t hold you back,” he messaged, followed by the word “Please.”

He sent her a WhatsApp message on March 16, 2019 with the text: ‘Don’t you like me having sex with other girls? Do you see me having sex with other girls as an indication that I don’t have serious feelings towards you?’.

She replied: ‘I don’t form opinions about who other people have sex with :)’

The junior employee did not complain about Sugimoto’s behavior while it was happening because he was a partner in the firm, the panel heard.

Bird and Bird LLP Belgium conducted an internal investigation into Sugimoto’s conduct in May 2019 after concerns were raised about his conduct.

Sugimoto admitted to the tribunal that he was looking for a romantic relationship with the woman, who later left the company.

The tribunal said as part of its conclusion: ‘Mr Sugimoto’s degree of culpability was high; he was an experienced lawyer who was a partner at the firm at the time of the misconduct.

‘He was in a position of authority and influence and used the balance of power created by his seniority to take advantage of a junior female consultant.’

Sugimoto has been ordered to pay £36,000 towards the lawyers’ regulator’s application and investigation costs and will be banned from practicing as a lawyer in Britain for the next five years.

He now works for a law firm in Japan.