A major Canadian law firm has launched an investigation, and a Vancouver lawyer is on a leave of absence after a TikTok video went viral this week.
Fasken, which operates nationally and is one of the largest firms in B.C., was recently mentioned in a series of TikTok videos from user lailarosecreative69, or Laila Rose, who is claiming alleged inappropriate behaviour from one of its partners, Patrick Sullivan.
According to Fasken’s website, Sullivan joined the firm’s Global Mining, Capital Markets and Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) Group this May.
@lailarosecreative69 #greenscreen #cyberflashing #d #lawyer #vancouver #law ♬ original sound – Laila Rose🌹
“This is Patrick Sullivan, the man who sent me an unwanted photo of his dingalingling Saturday morning at 5 a.m.”
She adds, “He’s also recently married, not to me!”
Rose then advises other men not to act like Sullivan. Rose’s initial video has racked up over 150,000 likes and has been shared over 15,000 times.
The first video ends with Rose saying, “Shame on you, Patrick.”
More claims come out after first video goes viral
In a comment in the initial video, Rose also claimed that Sullivan’s wife was threatening her. In a follow-up video, Rose revealed what his wife said.
“Take down the video, or I’ll personally sue you for defamation. I’m a lawyer too. Get a life,” shows a DM from someone claiming to be Sullivan’s wife.
In response to our request for comment, Rose told Daily Hive that one of the reasons she felt so compelled to get this out is the lack of stringent laws against certain types of cybercrime. Rose, who was born in Vancouver, said, “I wasn’t even aware of Fasken till this happened to me.”
Fasken responds to request for comment
Daily Hive reached out to Fasken about the incident and received the following response:
We also attempted to reach out to Sullivan through his Fasken email, resulting in an auto-reply that reads: “Thank you for your email. I am currently on a medical leave and not accessing my email.”
The Law Society of B.C. told Daily Hive it received a complaint about the incident and is reviewing it.
“Our staff carefully assesses every concern and, if warranted, investigates and takes action.”
What could this mean for the law firm?
In a situation like this, what are the potential implications for Fasken? Criminal lawyer Kyla Lee provided some insight.
“It’s unlikely that there are specific implications for Fasken as a law firm. The reality is that law firms aren’t responsible for the conduct of their employees,” Lee told Daily Hive.
“However, if they’re employing somebody who is alleged to be some sort of a predator or sending inappropriate messages, it is hugely reputationally damaging. Law firms also have to consider their obligation to protect their clients and the public.”
There are a couple of ways the law firm could find itself directly involved, according to Lee.
“If they were aware that this person engaged in this type of conduct and took no steps to stop it. Lawyers have a responsibility to protect the public. If the members of the firm, the other partners, knew this person had a proclivity to send unsolicited photos of his genitalia and they didn’t do anything to curb that, they could be in breach of their professional responsibility obligations,” Lee said, adding that it’s unlikely that’s the case.
“In a circumstance where they have been aware that this has happened with their employees. If they failed to protect their employees, there are a number of cases that are currently before the Law Society that involve law firms where the lawyers are not properly dealing with sexual harassment in the workplace, and lawyers are being investigated for that.”
Daily Hive has not independently verified any of the claims made by the accuser, and will continue to follow this story as the investigation into the incident continues.