Boss joked about woman's virginity being raffled

A senior manager at a law firm who joked that a raffle winner could take a junior colleague's virginity has been banned from the legal profession.

Darren Shaw, a chartered legal executive at personal injury firm Keller Postman in Manchester, made the remark during a work dinner when a prize was revealed to be a "Virgin Experience Day".

A disciplinary hearing was told other women had complained about Shaw's lewd behaviour that evening and said they had been harassed after they went to a late-night bar.

Shaw, of Bramhall in Stockport, did not appear at the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal hearing but said he had not intended to cause distress.

The hearing was told that Shaw made the "virgin" comment during a dinner on 6 October 2022, when he said the raffle winner would be spending "a night" with the woman, known as Colleague A.

The tribunal heard that he joked "loudly" that a junior female colleague was a "virgin".

It was claimed he then repeated his remark and that he "didn't realise you could spend a night with" the woman.

The hearing was also told that Shaw later tried to "inappropriately" coerce two female colleagues to dance with him at a bar.

He is said to have told one of the women: "Has anyone ever told you you're beautiful, gorgeous, really attractive?"

The hearing was told that he put his arm around another colleague and told her: "You smell like coconuts."

Shaw also told another woman she was "too pretty to be single", the tribunal heard.

The women later complained to their managers, with one saying she had been "shocked" and "wanted to cry".

The tribunal ruled that Shaw could only be involved again with the legal profession with the prior consent of the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

He was also ordered to pay more than £20,000 in costs.

In an email to the tribunal , Shaw said: "I never set out to cause harm or distress to anyone - it is not in my DNA. Never has been or will."

Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.