What Is the Baker McKenzie Sexual Assault Lawsuit?

The Baker McKenzie sexual assault lawsuit is actually two lawsuits pointing in opposite directions. Former tax associate Brooke Radford has sued the firm and its Washington, D.C. managing partner Maurice Bellan, alleging he assaulted her, offered her $50,000 to have a child with his son, and that the firm fired her and covered it up. Baker McKenzie sued her first, calling the allegations fabricated retaliation for a firing over credit-card misuse and a breakup. Both cases are pending in D.C. Superior Court as of mid-2026.

What Radford Says Happened

Radford worked as a tax associate in Baker McKenzie’s D.C. office. In a complaint filed on January 22, 2026, she alleged Bellan physically assaulted her on at least two occasions: at a firm Juneteenth event in 2024, where she says he pulled her onto his lap, and at a conference in Chicago, where she says he grabbed her tightly. She also alleged that on a trip to Las Vegas, Bellan gave her a key to his hotel suite and appeared naked in the room when she arrived to collect him for an event.¹

Radford also alleged that Bellan offered her $50,000 to have a child with his son, Reece Bellan, and that she was terminated after refusing. In a text message to Bellan quoted in court filings, she wrote: “The next person that contacts me on your behalf will be informed that you offered me $50,000 to have your grandchild then fired me because I chose not to.”²

Her lawsuit, brought under the D.C. Human Rights Act, asserts five causes of action: hostile work environment based on sex and race, quid pro quo sexual harassment, wrongful termination in violation of public policy, retaliation, and assault and battery against Bellan personally. She seeks backpay, front pay, compensatory and punitive damages, attorneys’ fees, and costs.¹

What Baker McKenzie Says in Its Defamation Suit

Baker McKenzie sued Radford first. The firm and Bellan filed a defamation action in D.C. Superior Court on September 19, 2025, after Radford began posting allegations on LinkedIn starting September 16, 2025. According to the firm, Radford made at least 83 posts on LinkedIn and Reddit accusing Bellan of sexual assault and accusing firm leadership of covering it up.³

The complaint names Baker McKenzie, Bellan, and five unnamed current employees as plaintiffs. It asserts defamation per se on behalf of both Bellan and the firm, intentional infliction of emotional distress on behalf of Bellan, and seeks an anti-stalking civil protection order. The firm asked for injunctive relief ordering removal of Radford’s social media posts, a cease-and-desist order, and monetary damages. Jackson Lewis attorneys represent the firm.³ A Baker McKenzie spokesperson told Bloomberg Law that “Ms. Radford’s public statements are false, defamatory and malicious.”⁴

The Firm’s Version of Why Radford Was Fired

Baker McKenzie says the termination was about money. According to the firm’s complaint, Radford made more than 100 unauthorized personal purchases on her firm-issued credit card, including charges at Lululemon ($712.85), H&M ($233.62), Amazon (for AirPods), food delivery services, Lyft rides, and first-class plane tickets. The firm says it launched an internal investigation and that Radford refused to cooperate, leading to her termination in June 2025, effective July 7, 2025.²³

The firm also states that Radford never reported any sexual assault or harassment to management or human resources during her employment.³ Radford disputes that. Her own complaint alleges her corporate card was disabled to hinder her travel and that she was terminated without severance after refusing to sign restrictive documents.¹

The Relationship With Bellan’s Son

One of the most contested facts is Radford’s relationship with Bellan’s son, Maurice “Reece” Alexander Bellan. In its amended complaint filed around October 2, 2025, Baker McKenzie alleges Radford and Reece Bellan had a two-year romantic relationship that began in December 2023, when Reece visited the D.C. office to network with associates while considering law school. The firm says Reece ended the relationship shortly before Radford was terminated.⁵

The firm’s central theory is that the breakup and the firing motivated Radford’s public accusations. Baker McKenzie characterizes her claims as “retributory in nature” and alleges her story shifted over time: she initially claimed in July 2025 that Bellan offered her $50,000 to have his grandchild, then by September 2025 began alleging that Bellan had sexually assaulted her and multiple other women. The elder Bellan’s position, according to the firm, is that his relationship with Radford was “strictly professional” and that he “never touched Ms. Radford or showed any romantic or inappropriate attention toward her.”⁶

Restraining Order and Post-Termination Conduct

On September 21, 2025, two days after the defamation suit was filed, Bellan obtained a temporary restraining order against Radford in D.C. Superior Court. The order barred her from contacting Bellan and from entering his home or the firm’s D.C. office.⁵

The firm’s complaint describes conduct by Radford in the weeks after her termination: sending messages to Bellan, firm managers, and colleagues, refusing to return a firm laptop and equipment, and tagging Bellan and other firm attorneys in her LinkedIn posts. The firm characterized some of her communications as threatening, including what it described as a “violent rap song” sent to Bellan containing graphic lyrics.² Radford, in her own complaint, alleges Bellan retaliated by suing her, obtaining restraining orders, posting her address online, and sending individuals to stalk her at her mother’s home.¹

Where Both Cases Stand

Both lawsuits are proceeding in D.C. Superior Court. Baker McKenzie’s defamation case carries docket number 2025-CAB-006587. Radford’s lawsuit was assigned case number 2026-CAB-000465 when she filed it on January 22, 2026.⁷

On January 16, 2026, Radford filed a motion to dismiss the firm’s defamation suit, arguing it is a “classic Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation,” commonly known as an anti-SLAPP motion.⁸ Baker McKenzie opposed the motion, and on May 29, 2026, the firm’s counsel urged the judge at a hearing not to dismiss the case, arguing that Radford’s accusations were false and made with malice.⁹ No ruling on the motion has been reported.

Baker McKenzie’s Prior Sexual Harassment Case

This is not the first time Baker McKenzie has faced high-profile sexual misconduct allegations. In the 1990s, former secretary Rena Weeks alleged in Weeks v. Baker & McKenzie that partner Martin Greenstein groped her, lunged at her chest, and poured M&M’s down her breast pocket during her 25 days working for him at the firm’s Palo Alto office. Seven other women testified at trial to similar behavior by Greenstein, and evidence showed the firm had received multiple prior complaints about him going back years but failed to take effective corrective action.¹⁰¹¹

A San Francisco jury in 1994 awarded $6.9 million in punitive damages against Baker McKenzie and $225,000 against Greenstein, along with $50,000 for emotional distress. The trial judge reduced the firm’s punitive damages to $3.5 million. In 1998, the California Court of Appeal upheld that amount in a unanimous decision, finding that the firm “consistently failed to take measures reasonably designed to protect women from Greenstein’s abuse.” The California Supreme Court declined to review the case, leaving the $3.5 million verdict intact.¹²¹⁰

1
Above the Law. Radford v. Baker McKenzie Complaint
2
Roll on Friday. Baker McKenzie Sues Associate Who Accused Partner of Sexual Assault
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Above the Law. Baker McKenzie v. Radford Complaint
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Bloomberg Law. Baker McKenzie Sues Ex-Associate Accusing Firm’s DC Head of Sex Assault
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Bloomberg Law. Baker McKenzie Says Fired Lawyer’s Lies Are Retribution
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Above the Law. Biglaw Lawsuit Against Former Associate Is Actually Messy as Hell
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Bloomberg Law. Ex-Baker McKenzie Lawyer Sues Firm, DC Leader for Sexual Assault
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Bloomberg Tax. Ex-Baker McKenzie Lawyer Wants Sex Assault Defamation Suit Axed
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Law360. Baker McKenzie Asks Judge Not to Toss Suit Against Ex-Atty
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SFGate. Sex Harassment Verdict Upheld
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FindLaw. Weeks v. Baker McKenzie
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Los Angeles Times. High Court Upholds Sex Harassment Award