PsychSafe founder and principal consultant Dr Rebecca Michalak posited that the various legal services commissions needed to more actively police and enforce codes of professional conduct in order to close the gap “between rhetoric and reality” on sexual harassment, and that research “consistently showed” that around 90 per cent of victims do not formally report harassment.

Responding to those assertions, and questions about investigative practices, NSW legal services commissioner John McKenzie said: “We do have investigations pertaining to sexual harassment currently underway, but we are not in a position to indicate the number.”

When asked about whether the number of complaints received correlate with the actual prevalence of sexual harassment in law, he said he was “unable to say without accurate statistics on the actual occurrence of sexual harassment in the profession”.

“[We] have not been provided with the research Dr Michalak refers to,” he said.

Victorian legal services commissioner Fiona McLeay, on the other hand, stated that “anecdotal information suggests that sexual harassment is actually far more prevalent in the legal profession than the small number of complaints we have received would suggest”.

“This office receives two to three complaints each year involving sexual harassment [but] clearly this is not the full extent of sexual harassment that occurs in the legal profession,” she said.

“The reasons that victims of sexual harassment are reluctant to speak up are well understood.”

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LSBC does conduct “Commissioner Initiated Complaints (CIC)”, she noted, with 73 CIC files opened in the 2017 financial year “based on specific information [italics hers] about a practitioner or law practice obtained from sources other than a complaint, such as trust account investigation reports, media reports, referrals from the judiciary, etc.”

“These complaint types must be based on evidence. We cannot open a CIC without evidence and walk into a law practice to investigate whether or not any employees have sexually harassed others.”

The two commissioners were also asked about the duty of law firms to self-report suspected or alleged offenders of misconduct such as sexual harassment, and whether time limits should be imposed for such reporting.

“Under the Uniform Law, complaints about a lawyer’s behaviour must be made within three years of the alleged conduct occurring (with potential to extend where appropriate). We recognise that, in some cases, victims of sexual harassment may take some time to come forward,” Ms McLeay said.

“Should the senior person of a law practice who is responsible for reporting the offence fail to advise the police or the regulator, that failure could itself constitute a discplinary offence.”

Mr McKenzie also pointed to the Uniform Law, noting that firms were not in a position to wipe their hands of a matter should the alleged offender move on.

“A contravention by a principal is capable of constituting unsatisfactory professional conduct or professional misconduct,” he said.

“The resignation of an offender does not absolve a principal of such a finding if the established evidence supports it.”

Both commissioners said that lawyers in their respective jurisdictions should retain faith in the regulators.

“We continue to encourage people who have experienced sexual harassment to contact us if they want to make a formal complaint, or even to have an informal discussion with our staff,” Ms McLeay said.

“A high priority will be given in every instance to the best interests and wishes of any complainant, including their protection from public naming, if that is their request,” Mr McKenzie added.

Lawyers Weekly also sought input from the Queensland-based Legal Services Commission and was advised that “in the interest of procedural fairness and natural justice, [we do] not discuss whether or not an individual is under investigation, or whether any complaints have been made in respect of any allegations”.

When pressed about investigative practices and stances on misconduct, we were advised that “Acting Commissioner [Robert] Brittan makes no comment to all/any of your remaining questions.”