The 130 page
Us Too? Bullying and Sexual Harassment in the Legal Profession report from the International Bar Association, attracting much (and alas distinctly superficial, given the problematical nature of the source data and interpretation) attention, comments
The legal profession has a problem. In 2018, the International Bar Association (IBA) and market
research company Acritas conducted the largest-ever global survey on bullying and sexual harassment
in the profession. Nearly 7,000 individuals from 135 countries responded to the survey, from across
the spectrum of legal workplaces: law firms, in-house, barristers’ chambers, government and the
judiciary. The results provide empirical confirmation that bullying and sexual harassment are rife in
the legal profession. Approximately one in two female respondents and one in three male respondents
had been bullied in connection with their employment. One in three female respondents had been
sexually harassed in a workplace context, as had one in 14 male respondents. This report provides a
succinct analysis of that data, to raise awareness about the nature, extent and impact of the problem
and inform the development of solutions.
This report finds that these issues are ongoing, with a considerable proportion of cases occurring
within the past 12 months. It identifies chronic underreporting of incidents, with 57% of bullying cases
and 75% of sexual harassment cases not reported, for reasons including the profile of the perpetrator
and the target’s fear of repercussions. Even when targets report such incidents, workplaces are failing
them – official responses are considered insufficient or negligible, perpetrators are rarely sanctioned
and, in many cases, the situation is exacerbated. Bullying and sexual harassment hurt the profession.
According to the survey data, targets often want to move workplaces, and some even wish to leave the
sector entirely. Legal workplaces are not doing enough. This report finds that policies – while present
in more than half of workplaces – are not having the desired effect. Although training does have some
positive impact, only one in five legal workplaces are educating their staff to prevent and properly
respond to bullying and sexual harassment.
Change is needed. This report provides ten recommendations to assist legal workplaces and the
profession as a whole in addressing these issues. The recommendations are underpinned by the
empirical findings of this survey, extensive secondary research and consultation with stakeholders.
Change will not occur overnight, particularly as these issues are not unique to the legal profession
but reflective of wider societal challenges. Yet there are compelling moral, ethical and commercial
imperatives for the profession to act urgently. Individually and together, legal professionals and the
legal profession must eliminate bullying and sexual harassment from our workplaces. It is hoped
that this report can make a modest contribution towards genuine change.
The IBA makes the following recommendations
1. Raise awareness
The legal profession has a problem. Spread the word – it is the first step towards achieving change.
2. Revise and implement policies and standards Policies to address bullying and sexual harassment are under-utilised and not sufficiently effective. We need more effective policies and better implementation.
3. Introduce regular, customised training Effective training can reduce the prevalence of workplace bullying and sexual harassment. Training must be the norm, not the exception.
4. Increase dialogue and best-practice sharing A problem shared is a problem halved. Let’s work together to address the scourge of bullying and sexual harassment in the profession, sharing what works and what doesn’t.
5. Take ownership This is everyone’s problem. From senior leaders of the profession to incoming graduates, we all need to take ownership of the problem and work towards a more harmonious legal profession.
6. Gather data and improve transparency Data about the nature, prevalence and impact of bullying and sexual harassment is important – we don’t have enough. Once we have the data, we need to be open about it. Transparency will help us to address these issues.
7. Explore flexible reporting models Legal professionals do not report bullying or sexual harassment often enough, at the time it happens or at all. We need to improve existing reporting channels and explore new ones, to make reporting a better experience for targets.
8. Engage with younger members of the profession Younger legal professionals are disproportionately impacted by bullying and sexual harassment. They must be part of this conversation – they will play a major role in developing and implementing solutions and shaping workplace culture.
9. Appreciate the wider context Bullying and sexual harassment do not occur in a vacuum. Mental health challenges, a lack of workplace satisfaction and insufficient diversity are all related issues. These dynamics need to be understood and addressed collectively.about the nature, prevalence and impact of bullying and sexual harassment is important – we don’t have enough. Once we have the data, we need to be open about it. Transparency will help us to address these issues.
10. Maintain momentum Change is not inevitable. But it is possible, if individuals, workplaces and institutions work together to eradicate bullying and sexual harassment from the profession.
The IBA comments
This survey has demonstrated that policies and training to address bullying and sexual harassment are:
(1) not sufficiently widespread in the legal profession; and (2) not having the desired positive impact
to the extent required. Recent research has suggested several possibilities for addressing the first of
these barriers. In certain parts of the US, training is mandatory for employers above a particular size –
those with more than 50 managerial employees in California and Connecticut, and just 15 in Maine.
Additionally, policies and/or training are often a requirement of consent decrees or conciliation
agreements negotiated by employers with regulators or plaintiff lawyers. In India, employers with
more than ten employees are required to establish an Internal Complaints Committee, with at least one
external member, to hear sexual harassment complaints. The Internal Complaints Committee is also
obligated to compile an annual report highlighting the number of complaints heard, the outcome of
each complaint and all measures taken in the workplace to address harassment; this must be submitted
to the employer and a local government office. At a workplace-wide level, legislatures might consider
the efficacy of implementing such measures.
At a sector-specific level, professional regulators might consider whether it is appropriate to
require legal workplaces to implement policies. In the UK, the Bar Standards Board requires
barristers’ chambers to have a written anti-harassment policy, which must state ‘that harassment
will not be tolerated’ and set out procedures for dealing with complaints of harassment.
A New Zealand Law Society working group recently recommended that a similar obligation be
imposed on law firms, with conduct rules further requiring individual lawyers to prevent bullying
and sexual harassment. The same report recommended that continuing legal education
requirements could be used to encourage relevant training, and urged law schools and other
providers to include ‘comprehensive training on harassment, bullying and discrimination issues’
in their ethics courses.
While various ‘carrot and stick’ options are available to increase the prevalence of anti-bullying
and sexual harassment policies and procedures, improving the efficacy of policies and training
once they are implemented is less straightforward. As two experts have quipped, ‘one can have a
terrific policy that does not make any difference in the workplace itself’. Another commentator, a former American judge, added: ‘training programs can be nothing more than kabuki rituals, in which the trainers intone the right words – the legally relevant words – without affecting behavior
in the real world at all’.
Common criticisms of policies include insufficient communication about their existence, a failure to
properly incorporate policies into new staff induction procedures, no policy evaluation and revision
protocol, and an absence of clarity regarding the manager responsible for handling complaints.
Although there is no ‘golden bullet’, and research is ‘enormously challenging’ given the unique
nature of each workplace and their policies, several steps may help. First, consistent and ongoing
communication is essential in maximising the effectiveness of policies. The tone must be set
from the top by executives and leadership teams, through role-modelling standards of conduct and
championing policies and procedures. Intra-profession dialogue and best practice sharing – possibly
facilitated by law societies and bar associations – may also be of assistance. Policies and training
should also be assessed and revised from time to time: ‘Training is not enough without tests to see if
the training is efficacious. The fact that a company has few formal complaints is not the measure of
whether there is sexual harassment.
