‘Hareem’ at at law firm media posts drawing fire
A QUEENSTOWN lawyer, the subject of a complaint to the New Zealand Law Society after saying he wanted his own ‘‘hareem’’, [sic] is disappointed the complainant has spoken publicly.
Todd and Walker Law principal Graeme Todd took to Facebook yesterday to apologise following publicity about the complaint, calling his comment ‘‘off the cuff’’.
Auckland lawyer and MeToo blogger Zoe Lawton yesterday published an open letter to New Zealand Law Society president Kathryn Beck, lodging a formal complaint ‘‘about derogatory and sexist remarks made by Graeme Todd about the female staff employed by Todd and Walker Law’’.
The complaint related to a nowdeleted comment made by Mr Todd on the company’s public Facebook page earlier this month.
A woman had commented on a photo of a staff lunch at which most of those present were women, saying: ‘‘I notice a large gender imbalance Graeme, not that I blame you. Maybe Russell McVeagh offices could take a leaf.’’
In response, Mr Todd wrote: ‘‘We have a fantastic team and you know I have always fancied having my own hareem’’.
The complaint follows months of controversy surrounding sexual harassment in New Zealand’s legal profession.
The comment was posted on July 7, two days after a damning review into law firm Russell McVeagh, which was the subject of multiple allegations of sexual misconduct.
In the letter Ms Lawton said Mr Todd’s remarks were brought to her attention by ‘‘several women in the legal profession’’ who found the comments ‘‘sexist and derogatory’’.
‘‘These women felt unable to speak out publicly about Mr Todd and be named in this complaint because of the potential ramifications to their careers. I am therefore making this complaint on their behalf. I also share their views and personally find Mr Todd’s remarks to be sexist and derogatory.’’
She said she had been contacted by hundreds of women about remarks made by ‘‘senior male members of the legal profession’’ since starting the MeToo blog.
‘‘Notably, I’ve been told of the term ‘harem’ being used on several occasions to mock and demean female staff.’’
She did not believe Mr Todd’s comments warranted an investigation by the NZ Law Society Standards Committee, and she was not seeking that he be suspended or struck off.
‘‘However, I do not think that is appropriate that Mr Todd, and other senior male lawyers like him, should be able to make sexist and derogatory remarks about their female staff with no repercussions whatsoever, particularly in this case where the remarks have been made in writing and can be clearly proven.’’
When contacted by the Otago Daily Times yesterday , Mr Todd said he was not able to discuss the matter as it was under investigation. ‘‘Frankly I’m disappointed she’s talking about it to the media, because she should know it’s not appropriate.’’
He said he would ‘‘very much like to talk about it’’, and once the matter had been dealt with he would release a statement.
‘‘I apologise if I inadvertently caused offence to anyone, including my staff.’’
Ms Lawton told the Otago Daily
Times Mr Todd had made the issue public by making the comments in a public forum.
‘‘He needs to take responsibility for what he said.
‘‘This is an opportunity for him to simply apologise, which is what most women want — it’s not asking for too much.’’