Bullying in the legal profession

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Bullying in the legal profession is believed to be more common than in some other professions. It is believed that its adversarial, hierarchical tradition contributes towards this. [1] Women, trainees and solicitors who have been qualified for five years or less are more impacted, as are ethnic minority lawyers and lesbian, gay and bisexual lawyers. [2]

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Half of women lawyers and one in three men who took part in a study by the Law Council of Australia (LCA) reported they had been bullied or intimidated in the workplace. [3] The Law Council of Australia has found that women face significant levels of discrimination, with one of the study's key figures telling Lawyers Weekly the profession is a "men's only club". [4]

According to former High Court judge Michael Kirby, the rudeness of judges trickles down to senior lawyers who then vent their frustrations on more junior staff, thus creating a cycle of bullying and stress that is rife within the legal profession. [5]

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References

  1. "Le Mire, Suzanne; Owens, Rosemary A propitious moment?: Workplace bullying and regulation of the legal profession University of New South Wales Law Journal, The Volume 37 Issue 3 (Dec 2014)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-02-01. Retrieved 2015-01-27.
  2. Society publishes guidance on tackling bullying in solicitor profession The Journal of the Law Society of Scotland 27 June 2011
  3. Leanne Mezrani 4 February 2014 Bullying rates 'alarming' Lawyers Weekly
  4. Leanne Mezrani 14 March 2014 Law is failing and hurting women Lawyers Weekly
  5. Bullying judges breed stressful system: Kirby

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