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A female intern at a large law firm says she “downplayed” the behaviour of a senior partner at two Christmas parties because she was afraid she would not get hired if she spoke up.

The partner is accused of making lewd comments to and about employees of the firm, spanking several staff members and dancing in an overtly sexual manner while heavily intoxicated.

“I think after that evening, I just tried to downplay as much as possible because I was so anxious that I wasn’t going to get a job,” one of the complainants told the Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal on Tuesday.

“I just wanted it to all disappear.”

The partner is facing charges of misconduct for his conduct at two work Christmas parties for his firm where he allegedly grabbed a staff member’s penis, made comments about other employees’ genitalia and sex lives and touched staff inappropriately.

He largely accepts the allegations against him, but denies that they occurred during his work as a legal professional. Instead, he says they occurred off the clock and he should be subject to a lesser charge of unsatisfactory conduct.

It’s alleged he told the female intern, who gave evidence today, that she “must have been a fat bitch” and further commented on her weight. He also allegedly said another partner at the firm had “the tiniest penis ever”.

At the second party, held some weeks later, he allegedly spanked the woman with a piece of wood, danced in a sexualised manner and kissed her on the top of her head.

“For him to kiss me on the head in an affectionate way, like what my dad would do, was uncomfortable,” she said.

The woman told the tribunal that following the incidents, she and another intern decided to downplay how the behaviour affected them for fear of not getting hired for a permanent role.

“Both of us didn’t want it to turn into anything because we kind of thought we’d be the first ones to be silenced and let go,” she said.

The woman described the dancing as the partner touching or appearing to touch his genitals, and that while she didn’t think it was a sexual advance towards anyone and was done in a joking manner, it was nonetheless awkward and embarrassing.

Apology

The partner gave evidence today, opening with an apology.

“From the outset, I wish to make it clear that I very much continue to regret my actions,” he said.

“I accept that my actions were discourteous and unprofessional.”

He said he was remorseful for any hurt or upset he had caused and understood his actions had an effect on junior staff members, but wasn’t intended to offend or make anyone uncomfortable.

The partner described his actions as “arrogant” and had caused him to “reevaluate almost everything” in his life.

"I use that word arrogant because I saw it from my perspective and not from theirs,” he clarified later in the hearing.

Under questioning, he said that in the years leading up to the two parties he’d been struggling with his consumption of alcohol and tried to avoid work functions in case he became too intoxicated.

“I’ve got a forthright sense of humour and can be provocative and alcohol doesn’t help that,” he said.

“What I think is funny, other people may not, I suppose.”

The lawyer said his conduct was intended to be perceived as lighthearted and accepts that it wasn’t seen that way and he overestimated the level of familiarity he had with the junior clerks at the firm.

With regards to his dancing, which other employees described as overtly sexualised, he said he had a reputation of dancing in an “outrageous and silly way”.

“If I’m dancing it’s ostentatious and it’s a performance. It’s silly, it’s intended to mock myself. .”

While a Standards Committee of the Law Society had charged him with misconduct, it was the partner’s defence that the incidents didn’t occur in the context of him working as a lawyer.

As such, his counsel, Daniel McLellan KC, argued if he’s found guilty it should only be at a lesser level of unsatisfactory conduct.

“There was no legal work being done at the time of the conduct that is the subject of the charges,” McLellan said.

The hearing continues on Wednesday.

All identifying details about the partner, the law firm involved, and all affected people, have been suppressed on an interim basis.

Jeremy Wilkinson is an Open Justice reporter based in Manawatū covering courts and justice issues with an interest in tribunals. He has been a journalist for nearly a decade and has worked for ob�����ӿ� since 2022.