NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather forecasts

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Budget 2025
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
    • Cooking the Books
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • What the Actual
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Call for harsher penalties after lawyer told to bend over by senior barrister

Amy Wiggins
By Amy Wiggins
Education reporter, NZ Herald.·NZ Herald·
29 Mar, 2018 05:20 AM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Former lawyer Olivia Wensley, who has spoken out about sexual harassment in the legal industry, says the report into a barrister's actions was "sanitised".

Former lawyer Olivia Wensley, who has spoken out about sexual harassment in the legal industry, says the report into a barrister's actions was "sanitised".

The report on an incident which saw Auckland barrister John Eichelbaum fined $10,000 and censured by the Law Standards Committee has been criticised by a sexual harassment advocate.

Eichelbaum's actions were found to be at the "high end of the unsatisfactory conduct spectrum" after he asked a female lawyer, who was acting as opposing counsel in a property dispute, to bend over through a window before he would let her and a consultant visit the site.

The report stated Eichelbaum refused the woman and her building consultant entry on a site visit and made inappropriate comments.

At a second visit, Eichelbaum would only allow the lawyer and the consultant to enter the site once she had agreed to bend over through a window down to the skirting board level to sign a piece of wood.

She told the committee she had "reluctantly" agreed to do so, so as not to waste time and money. However she said it had been clear she was not dressed appropriately and Eichelbaum had laughed after she signed the wood.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

She also referred to instances of bullying when Eichelbaum would suggest she had been involved in a fraud or crime.

But, former lawyer Olivia Wensley, who has spoken out about her experience of sexual harassment in law firms, said she was disappointed with the punishment and believed the final report had been "sanitised".

Wensley, who had spoken to the woman about her complaint, said there was more to the story, which took place over a long period of time.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"It was a lot more than that over a long period of time - a lot of bullying correspondence and threats. He accuses her of corruption."

Wensley said the case highlighted the very light punitive measures imposed when someone was found guilty of "unsatisfactory conduct" within the industry.

"In this situation the woman was only able to complain because it was not a case of it being her employer. It's unreasonable to expect young women to make complaints about men that they work for.

"When they do get brave and speak out, it's just a slap on the wrist. A barrister makes about $1000 an hour."

Discover more

New Zealand

Law firm sexual harassment scandal: 'I was ignored'

18 Feb 12:00 AM
New Zealand

Female lawyer on sexual harassment at work: 'It was like a frat house'

28 Feb 04:00 PM
New Zealand

Universities cut ties with Russell McVeagh

01 Mar 01:56 AM
New Zealand

Law students march for end to sexual harassment

14 Mar 04:00 PM

She described Eichelbaum's behaviour as appalling and said it was not just the lawyer who complained.

The client the woman was working for also laid a complaint against Eichelbaum, leading to him being again censured and fined $10,000 for "threatening, bullying, insulting and intimidating a person he pursued court action against".

"Mr Eichelbaum by his conduct caused Ms C a great deal of stress. Mr Eichelbaum's conduct towards Ms C was not only an isolated incident but persistently occurred over a long period of time (approximately five years)," the Law Standards Committee said.

The committee stated Eichelbaum threatened the woman with false court proceedings, intruded on her privacy to serve documents on her and said in correspondence she should be "ashamed of yourself for attempting to sneak out of your obligations in this way".

Eichelbaum was also previously censured for misconduct and unsatisfactory conduct.

Wensley said stronger consequences were needed in such cases because fines of up to $15,000, the maximum the Law Standards Committee could impose, and censures were not enough of a deterrent.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"It's a joke. These men, a lot of them earn seven figures. They can earn four times that [fine] in a week. The whole process is broken."

New Zealand Law Society executive director Mary Ollivier said the key points of any complaint were identified by the committee with input from both parties but neither party would have any influence over the summary of a decision prepared for publication.

She said the rules that governed the conduct of lawyers set the minimum standards that were expected of them and lawyers could face two levels of disciplinary findings when they broke them – unsatisfactory conduct or misconduct.

This is the latest in a string of allegations of sexual harassment and bullying within New Zealand's legal profession and the Law Society today announced it had set up a new 0800 phone line to allow people to discuss harassment in the industry.

Callers would be able to discuss their experiences and get information on the support available or how to can lodge a complaint.

The phone line, called Law Care, would go live on Tuesday and be staffed by five operators between 9am and 7.30pm Monday to Thursday and 9am to 5pm on Friday.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Law Care was the latest in a string of initiatives developed by the Law Society to address serious allegations of harassment and bullying occurring in the wider legal community.

A new online facility for lawyers to submit confidential reports of harassment and other unacceptable behaviour to the Law Society was also being launched at the same time.

This follows the announcement that a working group chaired by Dame Silvia Cartwright had been set up to investigate the practices and processes around reporting of workplace harassment in the profession.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand

Watch: Police make arrest after alleged robbery at Northcote shops

New Zealand

Lotto Powerball: Are you going to feel richer after tonight's draw?

24 May 08:03 AM
New ZealandUpdated

‘Armed person’: Police make arrest after alleged robbery at Northcote shops

24 May 07:48 AM

The Hire A Hubby hero turning handyman stereotypes on their head

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Watch: Police make arrest after alleged robbery at Northcote shops

Watch: Police make arrest after alleged robbery at Northcote shops

A man is in custody after police rushed to a shopping centre on Auckland’s North Shore following reports of a robbery. Video / NZ Herald

Lotto Powerball: Are you going to feel richer after tonight's draw?

Lotto Powerball: Are you going to feel richer after tonight's draw?

24 May 08:03 AM
‘Armed person’: Police make arrest after alleged robbery at Northcote shops

‘Armed person’: Police make arrest after alleged robbery at Northcote shops

24 May 07:48 AM
Deadly conspiracy fails: How the Killer Beez thwarted inner-circle plot to kill rival

Deadly conspiracy fails: How the Killer Beez thwarted inner-circle plot to kill rival

24 May 07:00 AM
Gold demand soars amid global turmoil
sponsored

Gold demand soars amid global turmoil

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP