Baker McKenzie Ditches Attorney Accused Of Sexual Misconduct

// Biglaw mega firm Baker McKenzie has terminated the employment of tax attorney Stefano Mariani. The move comes as Mariani is facing allegations he sexually assaulted a colleague while a partner at the Hong Kong firm Deacons.

As reported by Roll on Friday, Mariani’s accuser, identified only as X, said the senior attorney positioned himself as her mentor before using his position to manipulate X:

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Mariani began gaslighting her when he invited her to drinks at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel and told her how “disgusting” her socks were when she arrived, X alleged.

The aim was to “coerce and control her and leave her with a feeling of inferiority in his presence”, which led to direct sexual harassment in 2021 when the pair were having cocktails together at the Foxglove bar in Hong Kong, she claimed.

Mariani placed his hand on hers “suddenly” and said that “It’s apparent there are feelings here”, claimed X.

When she replied, “Even if there were feelings, there’s nothing to see here”, he came round to her side of the table despite her protestations, physically turned her head “and forcibly kissed her” before telling her “Sorry, that was a bit forceful, wasn’t it?”, according to X.

On the way back to the office he told her, “No one needs to find out about this”, which made her “feel like she was now part of a dirty secret and that she needed to accept blame for the incident”, according to X’s claim.

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The alleged abuses escalated from there:

A few weeks later he invited her to his house on the pretext of allowing her “to see his collection of Japanese swords”, then undressed her “without warning” and carried her to his bed where he “forcibly performed oral sex on her”, X alleged.

X’s claim conceded that she then entered into a sexual relationship with Mariani, but stated that “it would be difficult and problematic” to describe it as “entirely consensual”, because at the time X was “very much in the thrall” of the partner, who had “gaslit her with micro-criticisms, self-doubt and descriptions of his power over a number of months”.

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According to a Notice of Claim, Mariani also made “vulgar remarks about fellow colleagues,” he “appeared to relish the fact that he had a horrible temper and would often lash out at his secretaries,” and bizarrely boasted about putting a “hamster in a microwave to see what would happen.”

X also alleges she believed that if she didn’t go along with the so-called relationship, “he would retaliate and damage or ruin her ability to continue working in the legal field.”

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That was not the end of the abuse Mariani is alleged to have heaped on X:

It also alleged that Mariani compelled X to engage in anal sex after she contracted HPV and was told by her doctor not to engage in vaginal intercourse.

“He did not ask for consent, and he never asked or checked if she was comfortable with what he was doing”, alleged the claim.

Instead “he whispered in her ear ‘Now I can take your last virginity’” and “showed no compassion and encouraged [X] to drink a large amount of red wine” after the act, alleged the claim.

Eventually, X reported Mariani’s behavior to Deacons. The firm updated their code of conduct to clarify “coercive and exploitative relationships will not be tolerated under any circumstances.”

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According to reports, Mariani was fired from Deacons earlier this year. He was hired by Baker McKenzie three months later.

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Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @[email protected].

Topics

Baker & McKenzie, Biglaw, Sexual Misconduct