#DefyTheBullies

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I have decided to set up this petition in order to elicit change in the way the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Law Society deal with bullying in the legal profession. 

Having been subjected to serious and complex bullying in the legal workplace whilst employed as a Trainee Solicitor and having progressed 2 successful legal actions against the firm involved over the course of 6 years, no action was taken by the Solicitors Regulation Authority despite the overwhelming evidence, written admissions and other victims accounts. 

Due to the fact that bullying in the legal profession is ''rife'' with over half of all woman solicitors facing bullying and 1 in 3 male solicitors facing the same, this needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency. 

I believe a change is needed in 4 distinct ways

1. The implementation of a strong anti bullying framework which should include the implementation of specific regulations where behaviour that will be deemed as unacceptable and bullying is made clear and is accompanied by precise regulatory sanctions for any Solicitor or legal professional who is in breach of those regulations/rules.

2.That support is adequately provided to those who are subjected to such behaviour and clear guidance is given in respect of what to do in situations where you believe you are experiencing bullying, including a clear regulatory framework for how complaints of bullying should be handled by individual law firms with precise regulatory sanctions in place for those in breach of the rules. Where workplace bullying is reported within any law firm, they be required to formally report the event to the SRA who should implement a period of monitoring to ensure that regulations are upheld and complainants are sufficiently protected.

3. Those who are shown to have breached the rules and bullied should be dealt with seriously and in a manner that sends out a clear warning to all others who display the same behaviour, in that serious sanction in the form of prosecution will be the course of action taken in such cases to show that this behaviour will not be tolerated within the profession

4. An open and transparent procedure for dealing with this behaviour is paramount. In cases like my own, where legal cases are progressed and successful, action should immediately be taken without delay in the most serious form. In any event, regardless of legal cases, complaints about bullying should be dealt with very seriously and full contact should be retained with the complainants. Any decisions should be fully and completely transparent to ensure that the details are assessed accurately and fairly and the complainant is protected by the regulator. At all times the complainant should be updated with full details of the basis for any decision making, the decision itself, sanctions intended or sanctions imposed.