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Everyone in the legal profession deserves respect
Recently I had a young, female colleague contact me about the behaviour of an opposing lawyer, who had made an offensive remark about her appearance during a professional meeting, writes Jillian Barrett.
Jillian Barrett
My colleague is highly intelligent, compassionate to her clients, a fierce negotiator and an all-round excellent lawyer. This comment not only undermined her intellect and abilities, it reduced her to nothing more than a sexual object for his approval – as she was trying to do her job.
Fortunately, my (often male) supervisors lived in the 21st Century and I was able to be myself within my firm. They also ensured that any opponents would treat me with the same respect they received.
I have been able to rise through the ranks at my firm, which I am proud to say boasts a board comprising of over 50 per cent women and a female partnership of 45 per cent. Women comprise of up to two-thirds of all law graduates each year, and I am proud to work for a firm that recognises and promotes the vast depth of female talent in our industry.
In today’s day and age, with the #timesup and #metoo movements, one might think people would know better than to make such offensive remarks. But unfortunately, these comments are still all too common in our profession.
We are more than our appearances and #timesup for the men who do not respect women in this industry. They and their firms must be held accountable for their abhorrent behaviour.
Their clients must not condone this behaviour and they must ensure they obtain legal services from respectful firms that do not engage in sexual harassment towards women.
Everyone in the profession deserves respect, no matter their gender. And anything less will be called out.
Jillian Barrett is a principal at Maurice Blackburn. She is also a Queensland Law Society Personal Injury Accredited Specialist.
