Junior 'dehumanised' by sexual messages from senior solicitor

A woman has told a tribunal that her senior colleague in a City law firm sent her sexually motivated messages constantly through the day and watched to make sure she deleted them.

The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal heard that Oliver Edward Bretherton was engaged in a ‘sexual fantasy relationship’ with the woman, referred to as Person A, after she joined international firm Gowling WLG at the age of 18. He is alleged to have encouraged her to send explicit pictures and videos of herself and talk about her sexual experiences.

Bretherton, who was married and aged 36 at the time, is alleged to have abused his seniority to take advantage of his junior colleague over a period of more than a year.

Giving evidence before the tribunal, Person A said the pair started exchanging messages within weeks of her joining the firm. Person A said she was invited to work in his office and he offered to put on her choice of music. ‘He said that because I had been good all week I could choose the music… it did feel very much like a reward.’

The tribunal heard that Bretherton asked on another occasion what was the ‘kinkiest’ thing she had ever done and Person A said he moved his computer position so he could see her.

Person A said the first texts sent between the pair ‘felt like a joke’ but then they became an ‘obligation and lasted for hours’.

‘It was psychologically exhausting that [the messages] were horrible and awful and I was describing thing I had never done, didn’t understand and would not want to try,’ she told the tribunal. 'It was hard to talk about my body in a way I didn’t want it to be used and almost dehumanised me.’

Person A said Bretherton sent messages ‘pretty much all day’ and the two would have text conversations from 8am to midnight. If she wore trousers in the office he would be ‘upset’ and was ‘cross with me in a way that I had disappointed him’.

The tribunal heard from Person A that she had to take a notepad into Bretherton’s office for the ‘pretence’ that they were discussing work matters. 

She submitted that he asked her to start deleting Whatsapp conversations and he watched to ensure she had done so, although the tribunal heard that she was able to show some explicit messages to a friend.

Chloe Carpenter, cross-examining for Bretherton, suggested Person A was happy with the relationship while it was ongoing and had changed her attitude subsequently. Person A said these pictures and conversations were instigated by Bretherton and he ‘praised’ her for them, saying that if anyone found out ‘it would be my career that would be affected and not his’.

Carpenter added: ‘You were trying to turn a fantasy sexual relationship into a physical relationship. You would try to encourage Mr Bretherton and see him outside his office alone.’

Bretherton, admitted in 2007, is now a banking and finance partner with virtual firm gunnercooke, advising on complex structured and secured real estate finance transactions.

He denies acting without integrity. The hearing continues.