Bullying rife — survey of lawyers

WELLINGTON: Nearly nine in 10 criminal lawyers in New Zealand say they have seen or been the victim of harassment or bullying at work, according to a survey.

And more than a quarter who witnessed problems reported seeing sexual harassment, the Criminal Bar Association survey of 300 anonymous lawyers found.

The release of the results comes after revelations about complaints of sexual misconduct against lawyers at top law firm Russell McVeagh and subsequent protests.

About 89% of those taking part in the survey said they had ‘‘personally experienced or witnessed’’ harassment or bullying, 28% of those saying they had seen unwelcome sexual attention and 27% describing ‘‘threats’’.

More than half of respondents said they had witnessed shouting, and 46% had witnessed harassment based on gender.

But the Criminal Bar Association survey also found fewer than 17% of the survey participants made an official complaint, of whom only about 7% said they thought it had fixed the problem.

‘‘The legal profession is small in New Zealand. There are grave implications professionally for speaking out,’’ former lawyer Olivia Wensley told Three’s The Nation on Saturday.

Judges in particular were singled out by the survey’s respondents.

About 65% of respondents who had seen harassment or bullying said they had witnessed it by a judge, compared with 43% who pointed the finger at colleagues, 33% at opposing counsel and 31% at clients.

Undersecretary for Justice Jan Logie said the Government would be looking at the figures as part of its review of the justice system’s handling of sexual violence.

‘‘I’ve got to say I’m deeply worried by that survey result and in the context of a 1% conviction rate for sexual violence in our country at the moment,’’ Ms Logie told Newshub.