The Champagne Treatment: Sexual Harassment and Ethics in the Legal Profession

CPD Points: 1 [PM] [SL] [EW]
Price: $77.00
Area: Anti-discrimination; Professional Negligence (general); Workplace, Business and Career; Workplace Relations
Delivered: July 2020

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Description

Ms Kristina Vermey, Workplace Advisor, COHORTE, delivers this session as part of the Employment Law Conference 2020. She gives consideration to what do we know about the incidence of sexual harassment in the legal profession and how is the profession responding?; why a focus on compliance may not always be enough? Why is there a culture of silence?; Non-disclosure agreements and turning a blind eye; and how to influence positive cultural change: our role as practitioners and advisors. Topics discussed include:

Duty of care as practice managers;
What if we know something has happened but no complaint is made or pressed – is there a duty to act?;
As business owners and managers, at what point does the prospect of defending a legal claim become the prevailing consideration in informing the actions we take and how we respond when something goes wrong…. and is that okay?;
Whether a practitioner who is found to have engaged in sexual harassment could also be in breach of the rules of conduct;
Whether there is (or should be) a duty to report in this context;
How this might sit at odds with the use of a non-disclosure agreement (or other similar response commonly seen in a employment context);
The decision of the Chief Justice of the High Court to make the Dyson Heydon inquiry public (at a time when no formal legal claim had been made); and
The use of the language “you have been believed” in the above circumstances – which appears to represent a departure from the approach we commonly see taken.

Kristina Vermey, Founder & Director, COHORTE

About the Presenter:

Ms Kristina Vermey is an employment lawyer and workplace advisor. With more than 15 years’ experience as a workplace relations lawyer and human resources professional, She has developed a reputation as a trusted and respected advisor – holding senior leadership positions within Australia’s premier national and international labour law firms for over a decade and working closely with business leaders around the country to develop and support positive workplace outcomes. Kristina’s recent experience leading People and Culture for the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) in her home state of Tasmania has provided her with personal insight into the challenges and opportunities associated with managing human relationships within a complex legal framework, as well as a strong appreciation of the great value that can come from looking at things differently.

About the Presenter: