The Solicitors Regulation Authority has demanded that a former BNP Paribas lawyer pay £31,000 after he admitted giving his colleagues nicknames such as ‘Pol Pot’ and ‘Jabba the Hutt’.

Benedict Foster, who was a senior solicitor in BNP Paribas’ London offices, was charged £15,000 by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and told to pay an extra £16,000 in costs after admitting to using “inappropriate” language in the workplace.

His use of nicknames such as “Mad Paul”, “the Twittering Fool”, “Hu She” for an east Asian colleague and “Biriyani” for an Indian co-worker, was reported by a colleague during an exit interview.

In submissions to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, the City lawyer admitted using the names for work colleagues, while working as head of legal at the French bank’s debt and equity capital markets division between December 2020 and September 2021.

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BNP Paribas launched an internal inquiry after the exit interview and then reported its findings to the Solicitors Regulation Authority in March 2022. It negotiated an exit for Foster in the same month.

In his submissions to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, Foster admitted using the “unprofessional” names without their knowledge and acknowledged they would likely cause offence to his co-workers even if they were to share his sense of humour.

He denied that the moniker “Mad Paul” had worked to undermine his co-worker’s credentials as a solicitor, stating that his repeated use of the “offensive” name was a reference to his colleague’s “slightly cavalier approach to timekeeping, attendance at the office and his interpersonal skill”.

The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal ruled Foster had failed to uphold the standards expected of solicitors, failed to act with integrity, and failed to act in a way that “encourages diversity, equity and inclusion” by using offensive names for his colleagues.

At his hearing this week, Foster’s barrister said: “Through me, [he] wishes to apologise and does so unreservedly.”

He added that he “never intended any offence and never intended to hurt anyone” and that “there was never any racist intent whatsoever”.

 

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