High levels of groping and sexual harassment in the legal caper … Female lawyers speak out in public about their experiences … “Go to my chambers, take off your clothes and wait for me” … Protected species … Clarence Thomas … SA District Court judge … Randy law firm seniors … Ginger Snatch reports
A bunch of stories about abuse of female lawyers serendipitously has hit the headlines at much the same moment.
Last night (Thursday, Oct. 27) the ABC’s 7.30 a former paralegal reported she had been grabbed by a senior lawyer who tried to kiss her at a social function after work while, on another occasion, a male colleague put his hand up her skirt and started groping her leg.
Yesterday in the US a story broke about Justice (Groper) Thomas of the Supreme Court. A women who is now a corporate general counsel said that nearly 20 years ago the judge grabbed her “butt” at a dinner and insisted she sit next to him.
She had to makes excuses to get away.
Then this morning (Fri. Oct 28) The Advertiser in Adelaide reports that Claire O’Connor SC had posted on Facebook that she had been the “victim of serious infringements, once by someone who now sits on our District Court”.
Melissa, the young paralegal, went public on the ABC with her experiences working at “a respected law firm”. Workplace lawyer Michael Harmer chimed in to say that the “legal services industry is amongst the worse we come across in the area of sexual harassment and that’s very disappointing”.
Other unnamed women also had stories to tell on 7.30:
“A much older barrister said to me, ‘Go to my chambers, take off your clothes and wait for me’.”
Another said that a married partner at her firm “dragged me into a stairwell and kissed me”.
Also:
“At a hotel for a work conference he sexually penetrated me without my consent. But being a criminal lawyer I knew I wouldn’t get a conviction.”
Harmer said that lawyers at his own firm have been compromised by unwanted advances.
“We’re in the middle of a major case; a leading member of the bar starts sexually harassing one of our instructing solicitors. We’re caught, we need the case to go on. We can’t dump the person halfway through the case, a very difficult situation and very difficult to manage.”
He thinks this sort of thing will only ever be significantly curtailed when law shops get serious to “hit the protected-species partner – even though they may be a high revenue earner”.
The power imbalance is very evident. Melissa, who was 19 at the time, said she didn’t know how to handle the harassment.
“It’s really uncomfortable because, you know, the next minute, if you have to go into that person’s office to get them to sign something, all you can think about is, this just happened … I’ve rejected him. Is he angry? What’s he going to do? How is he going to react? Is this going to affect our working relationship?”
Justice Clarence Thomas was the subject of a claim of sexual harassment by Anita Hill during his senate confirmation hearing in 1991. Now Moira Smith, 41, posted on Facebook that Thomas had repeatedly squeezed her “butt” and pulled her towards him at a dinner party when she was 24. She is now general counsel for Enstar Natural Gas Co in Alaska.
“To my complete shock he groped me while I was setting the table, suggesting I should sit ‘right next to him’. When I feebly explained that I’d been assigned to the other table, he groped again …’are you sure?’ I said I was and proceeded to keep my distance.”
Her room mates at the time and future husband corroborated her story, saying she talked about it after the incident.
She said she was speaking out, not because of the presidential elections or Trump but because, “Enough is enough”.
Thomas dismissed the allegation as “preposterous … it never happened”.
Moira Smith is now the subject of attack by right-wing bloggers, including from William F. Buckley’s National Review: she’s a registered Democrat … her first husband worked in the Obama White House … her second husband is a “discredited high-profile Democratic politician in Alaska”.
This morning a Facebook post by Claire O’Connor SC was reported in The Advertiser. She unsuccessfully stood for president of the Law Society of South Australia, saying there had not been an election for this position since the 1990s, as usually the position is “gifted” by the council.
“Daddy, schooling, skin colour, gender preference (and) disability will not impact such appointments in generations to come.”
Also, sexual harassment and bullying at work, even the “serious infringement” by the District Court judge, “will be a thing of the past”.
The Law Society now has a diversity committee and a guaranteed female council representation. She said the current president, David Caruso, and Mellor both “voted against gender equity”.
When she applied unsuccessfully for silk in 2013, “all appointments from the bar in my failed year were male and were the children of or related through marriage to judges”.
Procrustes also had something to say about the Adelaide’s carnival of silks, here.
Apparently leading lights in the profession are livid at O’Connor’s attack, but public responses have been muted. Caruso said her remarks would be “discussed” at the November meeting of the society’s governance council. He would consider whether an ethical or professional conduct inquiry should follow.
“We are concerned by the possible negative suggestions which a reader might draw from the post about individuals and key institutions within the administration of justice.”
Tim Mellor said he didn’t have “anything to add to the process” and chief justice Chris Kourakis thought it inappropriate to speak about it.
O’Connor’s post has since been removed from Facebook and The Advertiser says she apologised to the law society and the courts for any offence.
The Law Council’s 2014 report on national attrition and reengagement said:
“High levels of bullying, discrimination and sexual harassment were identified in the legal profession, with one in two women and one in three men having reported being bullied or intimidated in their workplace. In addition, one in four women experience sexual harassment and one in two women experience gender discrimination in their current workplace.
The legal profession appears to tolerate levels of bullying and harassment, particularly of junior employees and barristers by senior lawyers. Rules, guidelines and policies are in place to complement legislative requirements, but these are not perceived as providing adequate protection and have not succeeded in creating a welcoming environment for young lawyers.”
In a Tweet yesterday the Law Council said initiatives are underway.
Law Council commissioned landmark harassment survey. Results unacceptable. But raft of initiatives underway. #730 https://t.co/JBwTlXvZb9
— Law Council (@thelawcouncil) October 27, 2016