A senior law firm partner who made sexual remarks to four junior colleagues while drunk at the office Christmas party has been banned from practising for a year.

Timothy Eagle knocked back booze at the lunchtime celebration, which continued when the group got back to Hansells Solicitors’ offices in Norwich, Norfolk.

He placed his hand on the waist of one woman and told her: ‘If I was 20 years younger, I would like to f*** you right now.’

Another was kissed on the shoulder and when she complained was told: ‘Every woman likes being kissed.’

Eagle described his third victim’s dress as ‘easy access’ while gesturing towards her thighs.

A fourth woman was informed that he wanted to ‘f***’ a different female colleague.

Hansells began an internal investigation after the incidents in December 2022 and Eagle was suspended from work the following month – but retired in April that year before the process was completed. 

However, he had already reported himself to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), which held a tribunal last month.

Timothy Eagle, a senior partner at Hansells solicitors in Norwich, has been banned from practising for a year after making sexual remarks to four junior colleagues at the office Christmas party

This has now ruled that he should be suspended from practising for a year and ordered him to pay £30,000 in costs as he had ‘direct responsibility’ for his actions, although it accepted they were not ‘premeditated’.

The incident was the third scandal in as many years for the respected firm, which was founded in 1827.

Hugh Landsell, the then senior partner at the firm, was jailed for stealing almost £2 million from clients’ accounts in 2023.

And in 2024, the firm was fined more than £120,000 by the SRA after incorrect sums were paid to estate beneficiaries and the problem was not put right for eight years.

The tribunal heard that Hansells closed its headquarters in the Tombland district of Norwich for the lunchtime party at a nearby venue and staff returned to the premises at about 5pm.

Some had already suggested Eagle should go home because of the amount he had drunk but he refused.

He was standing in the kitchen when a young woman asked him to move as he was blocking access to the fridge.

Eagle, who qualified as a solicitor in 1983, told her: ‘You are just so sexy. If I was 20 years younger I would like to f*** you right now.’

Other scandals at the firm include the 2023 jailing of senior partner Hugh Landsell for stealing almost £2 million from clients’ accounts

The next women was wearing an off-the-shoulder dress, which prompted the 66-year-old to say: ‘Your shoulders look lovely. I’d love to kiss them.’

He then kissed her on the exposed area, despite her attempts to stop him and told her: ‘I don’t believe you. Every woman likes being kissed.’

He later called her a ‘bitch’. 

Eagle waved his hands in the direction of the third woman’s thighs while commenting: ‘That dress is easy access.’

The last woman was told: ‘We’ve got a bunch of really lovely colleagues here and I’d really like to f*** [a different female employee].’

The experienced lawyer’s partner was eventually called and took him home.

He apologised to his victims in the following days, explaining that while he had ‘overstepped the mark’ he couldn’t recall offending them.

Eagle then reported himself to the SRA which held a remote hearing last month.

The firm, which was founded in 1827, has its handsome Cambridge House headquarters in the Tombland district of Norwich

It was told he was an ‘experienced drinker’ who had been advised to reduce his alcohol intake to help his liver following a diagnosis of cancer in December 2020 and major surgery to remove part of the organ the following year.

He had further medical issues in 2021 and 2022 and began a phased return to work in August that year before going full-time again the month before the Christmas party. 

In its ruling, the tribunal said: ‘It was, or should have been, obvious to him that too much alcohol might adversely affect his self-control and behaviour…

‘The tribunal found that Mr Eagle’s motivation for his misconduct was sexual motivation, which was an aggravating feature of it.

‘His behaviour arose from actions which were not premeditated. Mr Eagle nevertheless had direct control and responsibility for the circumstances giving rise to his misconduct.’

The 12-month suspension from practising as a solicitor appears to have not stopped Eagle from taking on work as a notary, a role where a qualified legal professional authenticates, certifies, and witnesses the execution of legal documents for international use.

Kathryn Hirst, managing partner at Hansells, said the firm had ‘acted with speed and complete professionalism when facts and details were brought to our attention shortly after the event’.

She added: ‘Mr Eagle was asked to refrain from attending our offices or doing any legal work and was subsequently suspended.

‘As stated in the judgement, Mr Eagle ceased to be a partner of the firm with effect from April 2023.

‘Hansells is committed to our people, to the highest professional standards, and to being a great place to work.’

Hugh Landsell was 74 when he was jailed for four years in 2023 after stealing £1.85 million from his clients’ accounts in a bid to chase a Spanish lottery jackpot he had been scammed into believing he’d won.

The disgraced solicitor believed ‘God had answered his prayers’ when he received a letter saying he was in line for £825,000 but could only receive the money after making a £41,000 payment for ‘non-resident tax’.

The court heard that Lansdell, who took the clients’ money between 2015 and 2017, had ‘lost almost everything’ after being declared bankrupt, as well as his wife after squandering her money too.

The following year, the firm was fined by the SRA for the blunder involving the botched payments to beneficiaries of an estate.

Some had been elderly and died before they received the money they were entitled to.

Hansells – which also has offices in Aylsham, Cromer and North Walsham – had ‘failed to uphold public trust and confidence in the profession’ and its ‘conduct continued even after it was known to be improper’, the SRA concluded.

Roger Holden, the then chairman of Hansells and a former president of the Norfolk and Norwich Law Society, who acted as administrator of the estate, was also fined by the regulator for his involvement.