InBrief

The New Zealand Law Society has released a report on sexual harassment in the New Zealand legal profession which showed that nearly one third of female lawyers have been sexually harassed during their working life and more than half of all lawyers have been bullied at some time in their working life. Of the 13,663 lawyers surveyed, 3,516 lawyers completed the survey (a response rate of 26%).

The report also found that judges were the perpetrator of 44% of bullying experienced by lawyers working in criminal law and of 50% of bullying experienced by barristers .

The New Zealand Law Society has now called for expressions of interest for lawyers to participate in a “task force to drive and guide systems and culture change within the legal profession”