Young Lawyers Accuse Harlem Solicitors’ Principal Partner, Babatunde Lawal Esq of Sexual Harassment, Exploitation

A tweet about an infamous Ibadan law firm using social media branding to disguise its horrid reputation has turned out to be an indictment of exploitation and sexual harassment against Harlem Solicitors and its principal partner, Babatunde Lawal, popularly addressed as Big Law.

 

At about 6:34 pm on August 10, one lawyer, Oladapo, tweeted: “There’s that one firm in Ibadan with an awesome social media outlook that, from afar, looks like paradise. I live for the day the firm will be exposed for its many atrocities. God, please let that day come quick!”

Oladapo didn’t have to wait another day, as his tweet immediately received multiple engagements from lawyers, all of whom knew exactly what “Ibadan law firm” he referred to.

There's that one firm in Ibadan with awesome social media outlook and from afar, looks like paradise.

I live for the day the firm will be exposed for its many atrocities.

God please let that day come quick!

— John Oladapo (@oladapo_esq) August 10, 2023

“WHY ARE YOU ALL SCARED OF HARLEM SOLICITORS?”

From the comments under Oladapo’s tweet, everyone seemed to know this law firm but refused to identify it. Knowledge of its actions were in equal parts a shared inside joke and a trauma-bonding experience.

“I remember getting an internship with them, but the red flags were too obvious, and I quit even before my first day. What the hell is “near suicidal commitment to work?” One young lawyer wrote.

Near-suicidal commitment appeared to be an emblem of said organisation.

“Lol. This firm, where near-suicidal commitment is required,” another wrote.

“And he always says he wants near-suicidal commitment. Sir, do you want my life?” One person tweeted.

“Near-death ability to work under pressure,” wrote someone else.

While hundreds indirectly called out this “Ibadan firm”, a few brave enough ditched the secrecy and identified Harlem Solicitors as the law firm in question.

“Why are you all scared of Harlem Solicitors?” One Olowolayemo tweeted in reaction to Oladapo’s tweet.

Harlem Solicitors was, however, renowned for more than just asking interns for a near-suicidal commitment to work. Many people accused the principal partner of the company of sexual harassment, arbitrary termination of interns, failed payment promises to interns, refusal to provide interns with certificates, and insults for insignificant errors and failure to meet unreasonable conditions.

https://twitter.com/meggy_sofine/status/1689795326603821056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1689795326603821056%7Ctwgr%5E88774ac7b7bdc0c95ba96973ff3e7934155e20ca%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ffij.ng%2Farticle%2Fyoung-lawyers-accuse-harlem-solicitors-principal-partner-of-sexual-harassment-exploitation%2F

“I came all the way from Port Harcourt to Ibadan to intern. I was just a young law student desperately in need of an internship opportunity, so I didn’t mind the distance. Mr. Big Law, the managing partner of Harlem, started making sexual glances at me; he even asked for the colour of my pants,” Joan Edegbai, a lawyer, wrote in a series of tweets responding to Oladapo’s tweet.

“I left Ibadan without a dime from Harlem Solicitors after having hope of at least supporting my transport with the usual intern tip of 20k. It was a horrible experience.”

https://twitter.com/this_isjoan/status/1690016615847407616?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1690016615847407616%7Ctwgr%5E88774ac7b7bdc0c95ba96973ff3e7934155e20ca%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ffij.ng%2Farticle%2Fyoung-lawyers-accuse-harlem-solicitors-principal-partner-of-sexual-harassment-exploitation%2F

Edegbai was only one of many who accused Big Law of sexual harassment. There were several others.

Same 2021 too.

He told me I have hot legs, rub my palm whenever I shake him. Said I am his spec so his wife will not be bothered seeing me with him. Kept asking about my relationship life. Forced hug me.

— Simply Law (@joy_ayara) August 14, 2023

FIRED FOR REJECTING BIG LAW’S ADVANCES

Adeola* was fired a day before she was to conclude her internship at Harlem Solicitors. “Big Law told my colleagues that I was dismissed because I was performing poorly,” she told FIJ.

But that was far from the truth, Adeola said. She accused Big Law of sexually harassing her and firing her because she rejected his invitation to a hotel after their goodbye dinner, which was supposed to be held on a Saturday.

Throughout her stay at Harlem Solicitors, Adeolu said, Big Law asked her out several times and tried to touch her inappropriately. The day before she was fired, he had asked her if it was because she was working with him that she rejected his advances, and she had said yes, hoping to keep him at bay until she completed her internship and left.

“He thought the reason I had been declining all his advances was because I was working with him and I didn’t want to mix work and pleasure. He then said that he wanted to take us out for a goodbye dinner on Saturday, and that after the goodbye dinner, we should meet at a hotel.”

But the following day, a Thursday, Adeolu received a sack letter, and before she could send her response, Big Law had deleted her email account, which was tied to the organisation.

Adeolu went back to school and reported the matter to the person in charge of internships for her faculty. Her family also contemplated filing a suit against Big Law, but their lawyer advised against it as doing so might affect Adeolu, who would soon begin a career in law herself.

“It was just a lot,” she said, adding that she would get panic attacks every morning before she got into the office and that even though the company brought in reputable lawyers during seminars organised for interns and gave them responsibilities that were instrumental in their career development, she could not remember anything from her time there. “I was not even in that mental state at all. I can’t remember anything because it felt like it was in the background; it felt very insignificant.”

FIJ called Big Law for a response to the allegations against him, and he said he had seen the allegations making rounds and that he would respond appropriately. Later on, in a now-deleted message, he wrote FIJ, saying,

“Thank you for talking to us about the temper tantrums going on online. Like I said, we would issue a terse official statement to challenge those with credible evidence/proof to substantiate their spurious claims. Better still, they should ask whoever is initiating this to send a petition to the appropriate quarters with credible evidence. It is then that we can speak to the issue. We don’t feed on rumours. He who asserts has to prove.”

 

CREDIT: FIJ