A disciplinary board has found a lawyer guilty of disgraceful or unbecoming conduct, contrary to the lawyers’ code of conduct regulations, over a sexist social media post about a schoolgirl’s clothing. It will set his penalty at a later stage, after hearing from him.
The girl had taken part in a public event that the lawyer attended as a bar association representative.
The three-member board said it was undisputed that he represented the bar association at an opening and posted a comment criticising the girl’s clothing. Read in the context of the whole post, the phrase he used “can only be seen as offensive, sexist and demeaning to the student as a person”, it ruled. The post drew a wave of reactions, it noted, and the comment was all the more serious because it was aimed at a schoolgirl.
It was also not disputed that the lawyer took the post down, but he admitted under cross-examination that he did so two to three days later. That counted against his defence, which rested on his own moral views, the board said, noting that he was still defending his actions during the hearing.
Lawyers, especially when representing local bar associations or other professional bodies, must protect the standing and reputation of the profession, bearing in mind their responsibility as officers of the court, the board stressed.
Views that reflect sexism and misogyny are offensive and demeaning public speech that can intimidate or stigmatise people and reproduce negative stereotypes, particularly when they concern minors, it said. Such views are incompatible with the honour and dignity of the profession and cannot be tolerated, it added.
The board cleared the lawyer of a second charge, of recording council meetings, ruling that the evidence did not prove the details of the offence beyond reasonable doubt. He had denied both charges, and witnesses were heard on each.
