Harassment reports spur law firm review
Russell McVeagh has announced it will open itself up to an external review in both Auckland and Wellington offices after reports of inappropriate sexual behaviour.
In a statement to media yesterday, the firm’s board and partners said it was due to media attention and reflection on the 2015-16 complaints it would look to ‘‘understand if, how, and where we made errors’’.
The company said the appointed reviewer will have full access to all material and staff. Current staff would be expected to participate in the review, while former staff and summer clerks would also be invited to participate.
‘‘The final review recommendations will be shared with those parties to whom we have professional obligations which include the women involved, staff, clients, and the Law Society,’’ the firm’s statement said.
It was revealed last week that interns in a clerk programme in Wellington during the 2015-16 summer complained of sexual harassment.
Victoria University’s vice-chancellor, Professor Grant Guilford, confirmed that in October 2016 the institution had received complaints about the behaviour of staff at law firm Russell McVeagh during the 2015-16 summer.
The statement from the company’s board said it was in the process appointing a suitable, qualified person, outside the legal community, to do an external review in relation to the incidents of sexual harassment in 2015-16.
‘‘What happened in the summer of 2015-16 was completely unacceptable,’’ the board’s statement read.
Alex Sims, associate professor in the department of commercial law at University of Auckland, said the review was welcome. But she added that an industry-wide review was needed because Russell McVeagh was not the only firm at fault.
‘‘In the aftermath of this, there have been a lot of practising female lawyers saying they’ve all had first-hand experience of this.’’
Employers had a duty to do something if they knew of issues within their ranks. ‘‘You can’t wait for someone to complain.’’