Last month, Biglaw firm Baker McKenzie filed a defamation lawsuit against a former tax associate, Brooke Radford, alleging Radford made repeated allegations on social media and Reddit — some 100+ of them — falsely accusing a partner of sexually assaulting her and accusing the firm of covering it up. According to that complaint, Radford said she was assaulted by Maurice Bellan (also a plaintiff in the lawsuit) and was terminated by the firm when she turned down the partner’s advances.
The original complaint lists the firm, Bellan, and five unnamed firm employees (the complaint alleged Radford made harassing and threatening comments to them as well) as plaintiffs. However, that complaint was rejected by the court, as the unnamed employees had not gotten permission to use pseudonyms.
But earlier this month, the complaint was refiled — listing only the firm and Bellan as plaintiffs. And wow, it’s messy AF.
According to the new complaint, Radford had a relationship with Bellan’s son, Maurice “Reece” Alexander Bellan. Reece ended the two-year relationship shortly before Radford was fired from the firm — Baker McKenzie alleges Radford was fired for misusing the firm credit card, among other issues — and, according to the complaint, that confluence of events led Radford to target Bellan Sr. with her false accusations.
As the complaint states, “Disappointed with both outcomes, Ms. Radford sought retribution from the common denominator — Mr. Bellan — by intentionally spreading lies about him to destroy his reputation and the reputation of his firm.”
And this version of the complaint also maintains the allegations Radford made of sexual assault are “unequivocally false.”
“Mr. Bellan’s relationship with Radford was strictly professional,” according to the complaint. “Mr. Bellan never touched Ms. Radford or showed any romantic or inappropriate attention toward her.”
The new complaint also tracks the change in allegations Radford made about Bellan Sr. as the “false statements about Mr. Bellan changed dramatically between late July and mid-September 2025.”
In July, Radford was allegedly making an “outrageous lie that he offered her $50,000” to have his grandchild, and she claimed she was fired because she “chose not to.”
By September, Radford “dramatically changed her false narrative, from Mr. Bellan bribing her to have his grandchild to him assaulting her and other women and that Baker attempted to cover up his misconduct.”
Radford has not commented on the complaint.
A Baker McKenzie spokesperson said, “We are confident that our lawsuit will establish there is no merit to Ms. Radford’s allegations. We’ve attempted to pursue a dialogue to try to address her purported concerns, but she has not engaged with these efforts. The firm takes all allegations of harassment very seriously and is committed to providing a safe and inclusive working environment for all of our people.”
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @Kathryn1@mastodon.social.
The post Biglaw Lawsuit Against Former Associate Is Actually Messy As Hell appeared first on Above the Law.
Last month, Biglaw firm Baker McKenzie filed a defamation lawsuit against a former tax associate, Brooke Radford, alleging Radford made repeated allegations on social media and Reddit — some 100+ of them — falsely accusing a partner of sexually assaulting her and accusing the firm of covering it up. According to that complaint, Radford said she was assaulted by Maurice Bellan (also a plaintiff in the lawsuit) and was terminated by the firm when she turned down the partner’s advances.
The original complaint lists the firm, Bellan, and five unnamed firm employees (the complaint alleged Radford made harassing and threatening comments to them as well) as plaintiffs. However, that complaint was rejected by the court, as the unnamed employees had not gotten permission to use pseudonyms.
But earlier this month, the complaint was refiled — listing only the firm and Bellan as plaintiffs. And wow, it’s messy AF.
According to the new complaint, Radford had a relationship with Bellan’s son, Maurice “Reece” Alexander Bellan. Reece ended the two-year relationship shortly before Radford was fired from the firm — Baker McKenzie alleges Radford was fired for misusing the firm credit card, among other issues — and, according to the complaint, that confluence of events led Radford to target Bellan Sr. with her false accusations.
As the complaint states, “Disappointed with both outcomes, Ms. Radford sought retribution from the common denominator — Mr. Bellan — by intentionally spreading lies about him to destroy his reputation and the reputation of his firm.”
And this version of the complaint also maintains the allegations Radford made of sexual assault are “unequivocally false.”
“Mr. Bellan’s relationship with Radford was strictly professional,” according to the complaint. “Mr. Bellan never touched Ms. Radford or showed any romantic or inappropriate attention toward her.”
The new complaint also tracks the change in allegations Radford made about Bellan Sr. as the “false statements about Mr. Bellan changed dramatically between late July and mid-September 2025.”
In July, Radford was allegedly making an “outrageous lie that he offered her $50,000” to have his grandchild, and she claimed she was fired because she “chose not to.”
By September, Radford “dramatically changed her false narrative, from Mr. Bellan bribing her to have his grandchild to him assaulting her and other women and that Baker attempted to cover up his misconduct.”
Radford has not commented on the complaint.
A Baker McKenzie spokesperson said, “We are confident that our lawsuit will establish there is no merit to Ms. Radford’s allegations. We’ve attempted to pursue a dialogue to try to address her purported concerns, but she has not engaged with these efforts. The firm takes all allegations of harassment very seriously and is committed to providing a safe and inclusive working environment for all of our people.”
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @[email protected].
