Dr Charlotte Proudman had faced disciplinary tribunal over Twitter thread criticising a ruling in a case she worked on
A barrister has attacked misogyny in the legal profession after a misconduct case brought against her for calling out a “boys’ club” attitude was thrown out.
Dr Charlotte Proudman, who specialises in family law and is also a women’s rights campaigner, had faced a Bar Standards Board (BSB) disciplinary tribunal over a Twitter thread criticising a ruling in a case she worked on.
In the 14-part thread, posted in April 2022, Proudman said a judgment by Jonathan Cohen had “echoes of the ‘boys’ club’”.
Cohen was a member of the Garrick Club, which was then a men-only club. This year, it voted to end its 193-year ban on female members after the Guardian published a list of about 60 of the club’s most influential members.
Proudman had said she was troubled by Cohen referring in a judgment to the relationship between a woman and her ex-husband as “tempestuous” and describing alleged domestic violence as “reckless”. She suggested the judge had minimised the significance of the domestic abuse her client said she had faced.
On Thursday, partway through the professional conduct tribunal, the five charges against her were dropped.
The charges had alleged that Proudman “failed to act with integrity” in posting the tweets, that they amounted to professional misconduct, were “misleading” and “inaccurately reflected the findings of the judge” in the case.
She was also accused of behaving in a way “which was likely to diminish the trust and confidence which the public placed in her and in the profession” and said to have “knowingly or recklessly misled or attempted to mislead the public” by making the posts.
The tribunal panel chairman, Nicholas Ainley, found Proudman’s tweets were protected under article 10 of the Human Rights Act 1998 and the European convention on human rights, which protects the right of freedom of expression.
He said her tweets did not “gravely damage” the judiciary, which would “put them outside” of article 10 protection. “We take the view that the judiciary of England and Wales is far more robust than that,” he said.
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Sources
UK: Barrister cleared of misconduct after criticising ‘boys’ club’ attitude in legal profession
