The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has suspended Ryan Sean Jack Williams, a litigation solicitor formerly of London firm SBP Law, for twelve months after finding he made antisemitic and racist remarks and sexually touched junior female colleagues at two staff social events in 2021.
The suspension took effect on 20 February 2026, following a tribunal hearing held across two blocks of sitting days between October 2025 and February this year.
The tribunal concluded that public confidence in the profession required a sanction but stopped short of striking Williams off, accepting that the misconduct occurred within a defined period at social events and did not involve clients or dishonesty.
Evidence heard by the tribunal included accounts from several former SBP Law colleagues describing comments made about Jewish colleagues’ wealth and appearance, repeated use of a racial slur, and physical contact found to be sexually motivated, including at the firm’s Christmas party.
Williams denied the allegations, arguing any contact was incidental in a crowded environment and that he had been misheard. The tribunal preferred the complainants’ evidence. SBP Law suspended Williams once the conduct was reported to the firm, and he subsequently left the practice.
Williams was admitted to the roll in 2013, has no prior regulatory history recorded against SRA number 487784, and must complete remedial treatment before returning to practice, alongside paying costs subject to detailed assessment.
The case sits within a regulatory environment where the Solicitors Regulation Authority has progressively narrowed the space firms have to treat workplace social conduct as separate from professional standards, with SRA guidance on non-financial misconduct making clear that behaviour at firm events falls squarely within scope for referral to the tribunal.
The Law Society has separately pressed firms to strengthen internal reporting routes following a run of tribunal decisions involving conduct at social functions rather than client-facing work.
Law firm management can no longer treat liability for partner conduct at office parties as a private HR matter capable of resolution outside the regulatory system.
In-house employment teams advising law firms will need to revisit how firms document and escalate complaints arising from social events, given the tribunal’s willingness to rely on colleague testimony years after the event rather than contemporaneous disciplinary records.
SBP Law and firms like it are left drafting conduct policies that can withstand tribunal scrutiny brought years after the incidents occurred.