Between 11.30pm and 1am text messages were exchanged, along with at least 16 attempts by the lawyer to call the employee. The text messages included the suggestion that the lawyer was outside her home. He said he did not remember trying to contact her, but did remember clients joking about calling their secretaries for a ride home.
The man, who denied the messages were of a sexual nature, was referred to the Law Society by his colleagues and one of its standards committees investigated the incident.
The committee found that the text messages contained an inappropriate sexual tone as evidenced by the lawyer saying that he would “cum up” to the woman’s house, and asking, “Shall I come up” then saying, “Not a chance you are” when she said she was trying to sleep.
The lawyer also answered, “Really?” to the employee when they explained that they were in bed, to which the lawyer replied, “R u ready” when she said, “Yes”.
“The committee was of the view that the incident was exacerbated by the fact that lawyer was a partner of the firm and that there was a very obvious power imbalance between them,” the finding reads.
“The lawyer should have appreciated that this power imbalance meant that the employee could be vulnerable and feel pressured by such interactions between them.”
The committee also found that the discussion between the lawyer and his clients about calling their secretaries for a ride was “troublesome”.
It added it “reflected an attitude towards junior (likely female) staff the lawyer should reflect on in regards to the importance of treating colleagues with respect and courtesy”.
He was found to have engaged in unsatisfactory conduct under the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act, including conduct unbecoming of a lawyer and fined $5000.
“The committee considers that the publication of a summary of this matter will serve as a reminder that a lawyer’s behaviour is under scrutiny at all times (not only when they are in a professional setting such as the office) and that such communications are not acceptable.”
The lawyer’s conduct was not however prosecuted by the committee through to the Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal, which has the power to strike off or suspend lawyers who breach their professional responsibilities.
By comparison, Christchurch lawyer Dean Palmer was earlier this year suspended for taking two female interns out to a boozy lunch and then making them accompany him to a sex shop. He was also found guilty of inappropriate communication with another female intern.
The tribunal also suspended another lawyer - who received name suppression - after getting drunk at a work Christmas function and proposing he give a colleague “the best orgasm of your life” in the back of a taxi while attempting to pry her legs apart.
Jeremy Wilkinson is an Open Justice reporter based in Manawatū covering courts and justice issues with an interest in tribunals. He has been a journalist for nearly a decade and has worked for NZME since 2022.
