Christina Blacklaws, president of the Law Society, said that both men and women needed to be on board to make workplaces fair and safe

Senior male partners at law firms are refusing to mentor younger women because of fears that unjustified allegations will be made against them, the head of the profession claims.

There has been an unanticipated and unwanted backlash caused by the #MeToo movement, Christina Blacklaws, president of the Law Society, argued last week. Ms Blacklaws told a conference on gender diversity that senior men were reluctant to engage in formal mentoring schemes with younger female colleagues for fear they might leave themselves open to allegations of inappropriate behaviour.

She also said that some of the younger generation of male lawyers perceived there to be a mood of reverse discrimination in the legal profession as they found their female counterparts were benefiting from preferential treatment.

Speaking to