Dentons chief Doug Stipanicev denies QAnon town hall reference

The local chief of the world’s largest law firm, Dentons, who has been accused of sending anti-vax and anti-Semitic material to a partner, once ended an all-staff town hall with a slogan associated with the far-right movement | WATCH

Dentons Australasia chief executive and Australia chair Doug Stipanicev has stood aside, pending an internal investigation.

The local chief of the world’s largest law firm once ended an all-staff town hall with a slogan associated with the far-right QAnon movement, a leaked video has revealed, amid allegations he sent anti-vax and anti-Semitic material to a former partner at the firm.

In the video, stood-aside Dentons Australasia CEO and Australian chair Doug Stipanicev is seen telling employees to “maintain that rage” that came following the Covid-19 pandemic to increase the firm’s size and client contact.

He then says a motto that is used by extremist conspiracy group QAnon – “where we go one, we go all” – and tells employees it is time for afternoon tea.

It is not clear whether Mr Stipanicev was aware of QAnon’s use of the slogan.

Mr Stipanicev told The Australian it was not his intention for the slogan to refer to QAnon, but rather related to a 1996 film in which teenage boys and their captain learn about life and loyalty sailing a boat through a deadly storm.

“The slogan was in a sailing movie called White Squall,” Mr Stipanicev told The Australian. “I thought it was apt for a law firm – we work as a team and succeed together – and is meant to foster collaboration and team effort and belonging.”

The motto may have been used to encourage employees of the firm to continue to grow and develop following the pandemic.

The video comes one day after The Australian revealed Dentons and Mr Stipanicev are being sued in the Federal Court by former property partner Guy Albeck, over allegations, detailed in a statement of claim, that Mr Stipanicev emailed him a report written by a US doctor containing “conspiratorial and anti-Semitic” material.

The report allegedly included claims Covid-19 vaccines contain toxins that allow “thoughts and feelings to be inserted into the mind by communication with 5G telecommun­ication networks” and argued a “criminal network of satanists”, including a well-known Jewish banking family, “rule the world”.

Mr Albeck in the statement of claim said Mr Stipanicev “appeared to endorse the views ­expressed” within the report, including claims that while the corona­virus could be effectively treated with medicines including ivermectin, governments “were shutting down doctors who successfully used these treatments”.

Mr Albeck also accused Mr Stipanicev of forcing him to resign after he made complaints of bullying against a former Dentons board member. Mr Albeck claims this was despite an HR investigation upholding his complaints.

Dentons on Tuesday night announced Mr Stipanicev had “decided to stand aside” while an independent investigator examined the report he allegedly sent to Mr Albeck.

The firm is defending itself against the claims, and filed a cross-claim against Mr Albeck on September 13. Mr Stipanicev filed a separate defence and cross-claim against Mr Albeck on Wednesday.

Former Dentons property partner Guy Albeck. Picture: LinkedIn

Mr Stipanicev also issued a statement in relation to the lawsuit on Wednesday, saying “claims by a former colleague attempting to link me with comments made by an author I have never met, nor endorsed, are absurd”.

“In July 2022, the former colleague asked me at a work event to share with him an article that made commentary on the issue of Covid vaccinations which were the subject of significant public and medical discussion at the time,” he said. “The act of sharing the article does not mean I endorsed the comments made in the article, but it does mean I do believe in reading widely to be properly informed on all subjects. I had not read all 55 pages of the article I shared, and regret that I hadn’t because I later discovered the article contained offensive comments by the author. Those comments were outrageous and I abhor them.”

Mr Stipanicev said “in accordance with good governance” he voluntarily stood down “while this issue was investigated”.

The Australian understands Mr Stipanicev’s address to the all-staff meeting occurred around June 2022, just after many Covid-19 restrictions had eased.

“We set out at the beginning of Covid to be stronger on the other side. We are stronger on the other side. We are significantly stronger on the other side,” Mr Stipanicev said in a video snippet of the address, obtained by this masthead.

“We have our focus now on scale, connect and innovate. We propose to maintain that rage to continue to increase the size of this firm, increase our client contact, increase our people.

“We will do it together. Where we go one, we go all.”

A former Dentons employee, who was in the room at the time, said “several employees” understood the slogan was associated with QAnon.