Inappropriate behaviour included emails with 'sexual innuendo'
A Christchurch lawyer received an 18-month suspension for committing "serious misconduct" against student interns and young colleagues when he was working as a senior consultant.
Dean Palmer, a lawyer with over 40 years of experience, was previously accused of inappropriate conduct at work between February 2015 and February 2018.
Allegations against Palmer
The allegations include taking two summer clerks to lunch, where they were invited to drink and allegedly taken to an adult sex shop, where they felt "very uncomfortable."
"Mr Palmer obtained business cards from the assistant [of the sex shop] and handed one to each young woman," the NZ Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal heard.
In another incident, Palmer was also accused of being intoxicated at a client lunch he hosted in 2017.
According to the victim, who had between seven and nine years of experience in the industry, Palmer "patted her on the knee a number of times and also stroked her on the hair and shoulder." He was also accused on leaning close to her and transferring next to her even after she moved seats.
In another incident between May and July 2017, Palmer was also accused of sending a lengthy series of emails where he requested to have coffee with a first-year solicitor.
"This included a suggestion for dinner on a Saturday night where he explained that he was free because he was 'batching,'" the tribunal heard.
Palmer's emails allegedly contained "sexual innuendo and inappropriate references," which Palmer defended were his attempts at humour that fell flat.
As a result of these emails, the victim - who was already unsatisfied with her stay at the firm - decided to leave law and pursue a career in another profession.
Tribunal decision
The New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal sided with the victims of Palmer in the decision they made in November 2022.
The tribunal said taking the summer clerks to a sex shop was "disgraceful and dishonourable." His behaviour towards a colleague during the client lunch he hosted was also "overly familiar, unconsented, and unwelcome."
"We consider that touching a junior female colleague on her knee, leg or her shoulder a number of times and stroking her hair goes well beyond the bounds of merely unacceptable conduct and again reaches the standard of disgraceful and dishonourable conduct, as viewed by lawyers of good standing," the tribunal said.
Palmer's "jokey" defence on the innuendos on his emails was also rejected by the tribunal.
"The fact that Mr Palmer emailed at night after heavily drinking at lunch time and coming after a warning as to his conduct towards young women, we consider that this conduct crosses the boundary from 'unacceptable' or 'conduct unbecoming' into the disgraceful and dishonourable category," the tribunal said.
'More permanent' penalty handed
In a ruling released in late April 2023, the tribunal ordered an 18-month suspension for Palmer for his misconduct.
"Your conduct towards the complainants was reprehensible and disturbing to them. In our Penalty Decision we stated that we were concerned at your lack of insight into the harm caused by your actions," the tribunal said. "We trust that you will use the period of suspension imposed on you to reflect on these matters."
On top of his suspension, Palmer is also ordered to pay $10,000 to one of his victims as compensation for "emotional harm." He is also ordered to pay $38,643 to the Standards Committee costs and reimburse the $26,725 Tribunal cost paid for by the New Zealand Law Society.
The tribunal also imposed a censure against Palmer, which will be reflected on his professional record. According to the tribunal, the censure serves as a "more permanent consequence" for his behaviour.
"Your serious misconduct brings the reputation of the profession into disrepute. It was disgraceful and dishonourable conduct," the tribunal said.
