The event had been organised by a legal professional body and was attended primarily by lawyers and legal staff; Mr A had attended the event in his capacity as lawyer.
He apologised to the victim for the arm touching and other comments and the committee found that was sufficient but advised him to "be more mindful of other people's personal boundaries and space when conducting himself in professional and social/professional settings".
In relation to the dancefloor incident, the committee said it had "no hesitation in finding that Mr A's conduct was unacceptable".
"Unsolicited and unwelcome sexualised physical contact of this nature has no place in the legal profession," it noted in its decision.
The committee also noted that both parties had emphasised the excessive quantity of alcohol consumed by Mr A at the dinner, and it accepted that this had contributed to his behaviour.
The committee offered to reduce the fine to $2500, on the condition Mr A undertakes an alcohol addiction programme.
The decision was only published this week but the New Zealand Law Society noted that it was made before the decision against Russell McVeagh partner James Gardner-Hopkins.
"It cannot be known whether the Standards Committee would have reached a different conclusion (and referred the matter to the Disciplinary Tribunal) had it made its decision after the release of the Gardner-Hopkins decision," the society said.
Gardner-Hopkins was found guilty of "disgraceful" sexual misconduct related to his behaviour with summer law clerks at the "big three" law firm's 2015 Christmas party in Wellington.
Earlier this year, the tribunal then ordered he serve a two-year suspension, which began on February 7, and pay a combined $108,008 in costs.
He later unsuccessfully cross-appealed that ruling this year while the Standards Committee's appeal led to an increase from a two-year suspension to three years.
The Standards Committee also unsuccessfully argued that Gardner-Hopkins should be struck off from the bar.
