Former Russell McVeagh partner James Gardner-Hopkins was suspended from practising law for three years.
Former Russell McVeagh partner James Gardner-Hopkins was suspended from practising law for three years.
A former Russell McVeagh partner whose misconduct kick-started a #MeToo movement in New Zealand is returning to the profession after a professional body ruled he is a “fit and proper person”.
James Gardner-Hopkins was found guilty of six misconduct charges by the Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunaland suspended from practising for three years.
Five of the charges related to his behaviour with summer clerks at the “big three” law firm’s 2015 Christmas party in Wellington. The sixth was linked to another company function held at his home.
The high-profile incidents, reported in 2018, are considered the starting point of NZ’s #MeToo movement and were a catalyst for a wider reckoning in the country’s legal sector.
“In considering Mr Gardner-Hopkins’ practising certificate application, the Committee was required to apply a forward-looking legal test to determine whether there had been a change in Mr Gardner-Hopkins’ fit and proper status since Mr Gardner-Hopkins was suspended.
“A majority of the Committee concluded there was no evidence before it that Mr Gardner-Hopkins no longer remained ‘fit and proper’. This view was based on a range of considerations, including his insight into his previous offending and its impact on others, and the steps he has taken to address the underlying causes of his offending.”
Gardner-Hopkins will be subject to a formal mentoring arrangement by two senior lawyers for at least two years, including mandatory reporting to the Law Society by his mentors, as well as review and “escalation mechanisms”.
“While the Committee process is generally not made public for privacy reasons, the Law Society has decided to publish a summary of the decision, due to the serious nature of the misconduct and the level of interest from the legal profession, public and individual submitters on the application.”
The Law Society acknowledged that some people would be disappointed by today’s outcome.
“The misconduct which led to Mr Gardner-Hopkins’ suspension was serious, caused significant harm to the victims of his misconduct, and attracted widespread interest from the legal profession and the public.
“The Law Society recognises the impact of Mr Gardner-Hopkins’ misconduct on the legal profession and the courage of those who came forward and gave evidence.”
Victim felt like ‘piece of meat’
During the tribunal’s liability hearing in 2021, former summer clerks said Gardner-Hopkins touched them inappropriately, with one woman describing that she felt like a “piece of meat”.
“As one of them explained during the liability hearing, the fact that they were not safe from a partner, led to a feeling that they could not be safe anywhere in the workplace,” the tribunal’s decision read.
It found his conduct in all the charges relating to six separate incidents met the test of being regarded as “disgraceful or dishonourable”.
Gardner-Hopkins was censured and suspended for two years initially.
Gardner-Hopkins and the Law Society’s National Standards Committee cross-appealed the tribunal’s penalty ruling at the High Court.
The committee argued for Gardner-Hopkins to be struck off the roll of barristers and solicitors or suspended for at least three years, while Gardner-Hopkins sought a reduction of the existing penalty.
His cross-appeal was dismissed, while the standards committee’s appeal led to his two-year suspension being increased to three years. The committee’s argument that Gardner-Hopkins should be struck off was unsuccessful.
Gardner-Hopkins completed his three-year suspension as of February this year.
He was then legally allowed to apply for a new practising certificate through the NZ Law Society practice approval committee.
