Lawyers Weekly reports this morning
An NSW barrister has been found guilty of unsatisfactory professional conduct after engaging in “sexually inappropriate conduct” towards a female legal professional, which included pushing her head towards his crotch and an “unwelcome” statement.
The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) has found the barrister – whose name and chambers have been restricted – did not make a sexually inappropriate advance but did engage in sexually inappropriate conduct during an event for barristers’ clerks when he approached a female legal professional, named H.
In submissions and affidavits, H alleged that the barrister had taken hold of the back of her head with one hand and “started to move my head to and from his crotch area”. While he did this, she alleged that he said “suck my dick” and afterwards, she said he humourlessly told her not to “complain about me to the Bar Association”.
“It was very poorly judged, doubtless on account of [the barrister’s] significant level of intoxication,” the NCAT judgement on the decision read. “[He] failed to take into account H’s feelings of anger, embarrassment and humiliation. Using the words of the application, [his] conduct was ‘sexually inappropriate conduct’.
Lots of Happy International Women’s Day tweets from the NSW Bar Assoc earlier in the week – but no condemnation of this Barrister’s actions and there lies the problem
