Mothers’ Facebook group threatened with ‘destruction of careers’
A lawyer encouraging Victorians to flout mask-wearing rules picks a fight with the wrong crowd: a group of 3200 feisty solicitor and barrister mothers.
A lawyer encouraging Victorians to flout mask-wearing rules has picked a fight against the wrong crowd: a group of 3200 feisty solicitor and barrister mothers.
Now the group is ready to defend itself after the lawyer, Nathan Buckley, warned he was “coming after them” and threatened members with “an absolute shit storm” and the “destruction of many careers”.
Mr Buckley, a Sydney-based partner of boutique firm G & B Lawyers, has urged Victorians to engage in civil disobedience by not wearing masks, refusing testing and flouting work-from-home requests.
The NSW Law Society ordered him to remove a social media post that offered “free legal advice to all Victorians”.
“Don’t wear a mask. Get a $200 fine then elect to have it determined in Court,” his firm’s post said.
He has raised almost $15,000 to challenge the lockdown and border closures, and another $110,000 for anti-vaccination campaigns via GoFundMe.
Mr Buckley appears to have become incensed after learning his actions had been the subject of discussion on Lawyer Mums Australia, a closed Facebook group that includes judges, silks, junior barristers, corporate counsel and solicitors among its 3200-odd members.
The group was set up by Sydney wills and estates lawyer Anthea McIntyre to provide a support network for women trying to juggle a legal career with motherhood.
A Melbourne lawyer is understood to have kicked off discussion about Mr Buckley by linking to his GoFundMe campaign: “Have law degree. Shall sue the government because of the vibe of the Constitution,” she wrote.
Other members responded with concern that Mr Buckley’s actions during a health crisis were bringing the profession into disrepute. Others indicated they would complain to the legal watchdog.
Mr Buckley contacted Lawyer Mums administrator barrister Sharna Clemmett last Friday after a member shared with Mr Buckley details of the discussion, against the group’s rules.
He said the posts were defamatory and demanded they be removed, warning that members who made “unsubstantiated complaints” against him could be found to have engaged in misconduct.
“I’m going to sue all of the offenders and seek to have them struck off for lodging complaints,” he said in one message, sent via Facebook Messenger.
“So if you want to avoid an absolute shit storm and the destruction of many careers of your members, you should reach out to all offenders and tell them that I am coming for them unless they lodge a formal withdrawal of their complaints.
“Don’t think for 1 minute that I’m bluffing.”
It is understood the group’s administrators and at least one other lawyer, Brisbane-based family lawyer Jennifer Hetherington, are now facing complaints to the regulator from Mr Buckley.
Mr Buckley is also understood to be the subject of complaints about his conduct and his interaction with Ms Clemmett.
He has previously been found guilty of unsatisfactory professional conduct for acting unethically by sending correspondence that was “threatening, abusive and/or discourteous”. He was reprimanded by the Legal Services Commissioner in January.
Rebekah Giles, a prominent defamation lawyer and a member of the group, has been engaged by Ms Clemmett to defend it. It is understood Mr Buckley met a barrister at 153 Phillip Barristers this week.
Ms Giles said Mr Buckley’s reaction seemed to be “at odds with his professed dedication to the protection of personal freedoms” and she was shocked by the tone and content of his messages.
Ms McIntyre, head of McIntyre Legal, said she started the Facebook group in 2014 while on maternity leave from a top-tier firm, after having two daughters.
Within a week it had 300 members, she said. “It offers a safe place to discuss issues of concern about being a lawyer and a mother, and how the two interact,” she said. Members provided advice to each other on anything from pumping breastmilk at court to mental health issues.
Mr Buckley and Ms Clemmett declined to comment.
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