Rape charges dropped against law firm partner

A law firm’s cocaine-fuelled Melbourne Cup party ended in disaster with a senior lawyer charged following a rape claim.

A law firm’s cocaine-fuelled party ended in disaster. Picture: iStock

A prominent Sydney law firm was rocked after a cocaine fuelled Melbourne Cup party ended with a junior lawyer claiming she was sexually assaulted by her boss and another man in the pool at a palatial home.

The boss, a senior lawyer and partner of the firm, and the other man, known as Mr K — both aged in their 50s — stood trial after they were charged with sexually assaulting the 21-year-old junior legal secretary at a booze soaked afterparty.

But the case fell over mid-trial in the District Court when the junior lawyer withdrew from the proceedings and said she could not continue giving evidence.

The senior lawyer and Mr K cannot be named because of laws that protect the identity of sexual assault complainants. Both are still working.

The woman claimed she was raped during the law firms coke-fuelled party

Last week, the senior lawyer lost his $3m civil case against the state that he launched after his criminal case was withdrawn.

Justice Belinda Rigg rejected all of the lawyer’s legal grounds, which included suing the police for malicious prosecution, false imprisonment and accusing the detective who charged him with misconduct.

The case caused major divisions in the firm with three other employees who were at the party called to give evidence in the cases.

The Supreme Court was told the disaster unfolded after the firm’s Melbourne Cup celebrations in 2019.

The firm hosted a lunch function at a pub in the Sydney CBD where several employees got drunk, the court was told.

One witness told the court cocaine and more alcohol was consumed when the celebrations moved to the chambers of a number of barristers who attended the function.

The allegations emerged out of the firm’s 2019 Melbourne Cup celebrations

The junior lawyer gave evidence that she took four lines of the cocaine, which was supplied by one of the men, while she also drank alcohol and vomited twice at the chambers.

She claimed the firm’s partner “gave her many compliments on her physical appearance and physique” throughout the night and asked her if she was still involved with a former partner.

This, she alleged, telling her “she was his favourite” and that he “kept patting and kissing her on the head”.

“He is alleged to have placed his hand on her stomach and said that he could see her belly-piercing through her dress and liked it,” the court was told.

After the drugs were consumed, one of the firm’s employees said “coke is out, I’m leaving”, the court heard.

The partner invited several employees, including the junior lawyer, back to a luxury home to swim in a pool.

The junior lawyer claimed she was sexually assaulted while intoxicated

En route, the junior lawyer’s evidence was that she told a colleague “she did not want to sleep with (the partner or Mr K) as they were over 50 years old and she thought the idea gross.”

At the house, the court heard the partner entered the pool in his underwear and the junior lawyer claimed he encouraged her to get in.

Once in the pool in her underwear, the junior lawyer claimed the senior lawyer and Mr K both sexually assaulted her.

She gave evidence that Mr K gave her more alcohol and blocked her into the corner of the pool steps.

Witnesses said cocaine was supplied in a barristers’ chambers to the partygoers.

The junior lawyer claimed Mr K said he and the firm’s partner both “wanted to have sex with her”, the court heard.

When the junior lawyer said that would never happen, she claimed Mr K said he could “make it happen”, the court heard.

The woman gave evidence that she “freaked out” and felt panicked and was unsure how to react.

This was because one of the men “was her boss and she was scared of the repercussions, including not only losing her job but having her name tarnished in the legal industry”, the court was told.

However, Justice Rigg said there were several aspects to the woman’s evidence that did not match up with CCTV from the pool area.

This included that it took her three minutes to get dressed after getting out of the pool rather than straight away.