Fresh claims of sex in toilet after heavy drinking at Russell McVeagh law firm

Students are alleged to have had sex in the boardroom and in a toilet at law firm Russell McVeagh, according to claims made by a senior law lecturer.

Students are alleged to have had sex in the boardroom and in a toilet at law firm Russell McVeagh after heavy drinking of "top-shelf liquor" with staff, according to more claims made by a law lecturer.

Auckland University of Technology senior law lecturer Khylee Quince says the incidents had involved young Maori female students from the University of Auckland.

Quince has said on social media that one incident included sex on a boardroom table.

Russell McVeagh confirmed yesterday that this incident had taken place about 10 years ago. It was consensual, was investigated by the law firm and those involved were reprimanded, despite no formal complaint being received.

Quince told Newsroom it was "disingenuous" for Russell McVeagh to now claim there was no formal complaint in relation to the incidents, as Quince and a colleague raised concerns with the company's senior staff.

Quince has said she had taken a complaint from a woman student but had been informed the sex was consensual.

Newsroom reported the two law clerks were 19-year-old Maori women who were invited to the company's bar to drink "top shelf" alcohol after a seminar.

Russell McVeagh declined to comment on Quince's latest claims today.

The law lecturer's allegations follow previous allegations of sexual harassment and sexual assaults involving summer clerks at the law firm's Wellington premises.

Russell McVeagh issued a statement yesterday acknowledging incidents of "poor behaviour involving consensual sexual events, including on our premises" over the past 20 years.

For the first time it accepted such misconduct had occurred at partner level, Newsroom said.

The statement said sexual misconduct allegations of this type had been resolved by "termination of employment or a partner departing" describing that as "action appropriate to the severity of the misconduct".

In her social media post, Quince said she took complaints from a senior woman student at the University of Auckland to Russell McVeagh after the incident but was told the sex was consensual and the two 19-year-old women involved were adult and needed to take responsibility for their own drinking.

Quince said on social media that Russell McVeagh's response to claims relating to interns in the summer of 2015/16 had pushed her to speak out.

"I've been incensed at Russell McVeagh's response to sexual harassment and assault of young women by their staff," Quince wrote.

However she has spoken in further detail with Newsroom about the allegations.

"Our immediate response [to Russell McVeagh] was we were outraged. It was not a matter of legal consent that we raised, it was of this being inappropriate in a workplace and involving staff members. Remember these weren't even Russell McVeagh employees. These weren't summer clerks. These were students. They were representing the university and they were treated like that on their premises.

"These were members of the public, really."

The two women involved became withdrawn after the incident, she said.

"To be honest they went into careers that were tangentially in the law but not strict legal practice. This affected their reputation before they'd even gotten out there.

A Russell McVeagh spokeswoman said yesterday the post on social media referred to an incident that took place "more than 10 years ago".

"Due to the consensual nature of the event, a formal complaint was never made. However, it was investigated fully and those involved were reprimanded.

"For a full formal investigation to be initiated we require a formal complaint to be made so that privacy laws are not breached.

"This has limited our ability to prove the alleged misconduct," the spokeswoman said.

On Friday Russell McVeagh also announced an independent review was planned, and would include all actions taken in response to the specific incidents, management practices and policies in relation to preventing sexual harassment, and supporting those who wished to make complaints, and the organisational culture of the firm.