Law boss compulsively watched porn at work, which female staff couldn’t help seeing

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Law boss compulsively watched porn at work, which female staff couldn’t help seeing

A law boss who repeatedly exposed his female staff to porn on his computer, has been suspended from practising as a lawyer for three months.

“Although he ‘clicked out’ of objectionable internet sites when staff entered his office room, they were confronted with snippets and were acutely aware of his interest in sexualised objectification of women.

“Consequently, they felt horror, shock, disgust, discomfort, embarrassment, and shame. Their work environment was thus rendered toxic and emotionally unsafe,” a recent Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal finding said.

The lawyer, who cannot be named at this stage, was a sole legal practice employer and had no policy or processes about raising this type of behaviour.

Since 2016, some staff members witnessed the snippets of porn on his computer screen several times a day.

When the firm moved to a new office and his computer screen faced the door, staff were immediately exposed to the explicit material.

“He resisted suggestions that he rearrange his room, so his screen was not visible on entry. Although (and because) he ‘clicked off’ images when, or soon after, staff entered, we cannot imagine that he could not have been aware of the situation. In our view, to claim otherwise amounts to wilful blindness,“ the tribunal said.

It wasn’t until November 2022 when a junior staff member raised concerns with another more senior employee that the lawyer was confronted.

The lawyer said he had an addiction and promised to get help. But he broke his promise two months later when another employee saw an explicit image on his screen. He initially denied it when confronted, and only accepted the employee was correct when another staffer complained about the same issue the following month.

At the hearing last month, the lawyer admitted the charge of misconduct and the tribunal called his conduct “egregious”.

“We find that, because all the staff members were female and he, their employer, male, both their distress and their hesitance in confronting him are readily explicable.”

The tribunal said there was a power imbalance and the staff were anxious about effects on their jobs.