Allens lawyer accused of harassment, and then promoted

Law firm Allens promoted a male lawyer who sexually harassed a junior ­associate, while the woman ­involved suffered a vastly different fate.

Lawyer Fiona Thatcher, in London this week, says Allens initially failed to act on her complaint. Picture: Annabel Moeller

One of Australia’s most prestigious law firms, Allens, promoted a male lawyer who sexually harassed a junior ­associate, while the woman ­involved was so distressed at having to work with him after the incident that she resigned.

In another instance, a partner in the same office demanded nude photographs from a junior female associate, threatening her career if she reported it.

The culture within Australia’s legal fraternity has come under increasing scrutiny since a High Court inquiry found former judge Dyson Heydon sexually harassed associates and with ­Attorney-General Christian Porter suing the ABC for broadcasting rape allegations levelled against him.

An investigation by The Weekend Australian has uncovered a deeply uncomfortable environment at Allens’ Queen Street, Brisbane, offices, a 175-year-old outpost of the multinational law firm that specialises in natural resources, infrastructure and corporate work.

Fiona Thatcher, a 31-year-old lawyer now working in London was at the office from 2014 to 2016, and reported to the company a disturbing sexual harassment incident in July 2015. But Ms Thatcher said her complaints were initially disregarded.

She said on July 31, 2015, a senior male lawyer sent her lewd and aggressive text messages ­demanding sex and shortly after midnight came to her Brisbane unit, ringing the security bell persistently for 15 minutes. The next day at 11am he sent another similar message.

Ms Thatcher said even though she showed company ­officials the messages, the male lawyer’s excuse of being so drunk he couldn’t remember was readily accepted.

Ms Thatcher’s parents had been staying with her to help her recuperate from the flu. She said it was only after her father wrote a statement and identified the male lawyer who had been pestering the family at the front door that she said the firm took the incident seriously.

Ms Thatcher’s father was so concerned about his daughter’s safety he discussed with the body corporate the need for extra ­security at the unit block.

The male lawyer was asked to apologise, which he did, but ­attempted to justify his conduct by adding that he thought the woman was fair game.

Ms Thatcher was so mortified by the firm’s handling of the issue — and the fact she was forced to continue working alongside the man — that she left five months later, her confidence so destroyed that she considered giving up her law career. The male lawyer? He is still working with the firm, having been promoted.

In a statement, Allens said the male lawyer was “formally disciplined” after an investigation.

“Since the incident (his) conduct has been everything the firm expects and his performance has been of a very high standard,” the statement reads. “On that basis he has since been promoted.”

Ms Thatcher told The Weekend Australian that the man was ordered to apologise, but “as far as I’m aware, no other real punishment was given to him”.

“During his forced apology, he said ‘I’m sorry for what you said I did’. I asked him why he did it, and he said ‘because you talk about sex all the time’. That really shocked and upset me, because it really wasn’t true. I felt like he was blaming me for what he did,” she said.

“The handful of people in the firm who knew what happened were ordered to stay silent, and they did. He wasn’t moved out of my tiny team, so we had to continue working together.’’

Silence must stop

Ms Thatcher said there should be no tolerance for sexual harassment at law firms.

“We should hold ourselves to an even higher standard of conduct, and tolerate no abuse, no bullying, and no lies from even the most popular, highest-earning lawyers at our firms,” she said, suggesting that the Law Society should be informed of all sexual harassment complaints so it could investigate if the perpetrator was a fit and proper person to remain in the industry.

Currently any complaints are handled by a senior member within each of the small legal teams — usually a man.

Ms Thatcher said if there were any consequences, it only involved “the shuffling of the men around to different law firms” and implicit protection of the lawyers who committed sexual harassment against women, which then “enables the men to continue to do awful things to women”.

“This silence protects the men and the law firm, but it doesn’t protect the women who work there,’’ she said, adding: “Men need to stop protecting other men.”

History repeats itself

The Weekend Australian can also reveal that it was only late last year that another senior lawyer — an Allens partner in the same ­office — was the focus of a month-long probe into sexual misconduct with a junior employee he was supervising.

He had twice denied the relationship to the company as far back as June 2019, a contravention of the firm’s policy which requires discloses of relationships between a partner and employee.

When it became clear that how the man had acted was inappropriate, the company began a process to have him removed. However, he quit before that process was able to commence.

In this matter, the woman said the firm only asked the man, who was married, about the relationship during two investigations — at the end of June 2019 and in early 2020.

It was only on the third ­occasion in September when company officials approached her that a clear power imbalance in a sexual relationship became evident.

The woman was terrified she would lose her job. But text message exchanges showed evidence the senior lawyer engaged in grooming activities alongside persistent demands for nude photos.

Allens, in its statement, said: “As the nature of the male lawyer’s conduct became clear during this investigation, his position in the firm became untenable and he ­resigned ahead of a formal removal process commencing. We held briefings with our partners and our Brisbane office to discuss the circumstances of his ­departure.

“The female lawyer remains a valued employee of the firm.’’

However, the same male lawyer had been the subject of a separate complaint to the firm five years earlier, in 2015 — this time for ­intimidating conduct — by Ms Thatcher. Allens denied having any record of this complaint.

But Ms Thatcher said: “I felt ­despair that I hadn’t been listened to all those years before. It could have protected (the young female associate).

“At the time my feedback was dismissed by a senior partner, who actually scoffed and said nobody had complained about the lawyer, his friend, before.”

Ms Thatcher added: “She also told me that she didn’t speak up earlier because there had recently been a case at the firm where a partner was maintaining a sexual relationship with his junior associate — and that when it had been uncovered, the woman had been asked to leave, not him. This dissuaded her from coming forward, which I find chilling.’’

The Weekend Australian has not named either of the male lawyer for legal reasons.

Jobs on the line

Even today, after multiple internal company investigations, this ­female lawyer, who spoke to The Weekend Australian on condition of anonymity, is working alongside the promoted midnight-doorbell-ringing lawyer.

Allens managing partner Richard Spurio said sexual harassment had no place in any workplace. “We have been clear with our partners and staff that it has no place at Allens,” he said. “We take allegations of misconduct very ­seriously. The conduct that had been raised with us and was the subject of questions from The Australian was investigated by us fully at the time … In both cases, the version of events put forward by the female lawyer was ­accepted. As a result of the investigations, in one case a partner left the firm, and in the other a lawyer was formally disciplined.’’

He added that the firm provided support to the women and the offer of support still stood.

“We deeply regret the distress both women experienced,’’ he said, adding the firm had strengthened the processes around how ­allegations of misconduct were handled, including a mandatory requirement for disclosure of personal relationships in the workplace where there could be a power imbalance. “Misconduct can result, and has resulted, in people exiting the firm,’’ he said.