A hearing into his conduct was held earlier this year, at which several junior staff gave evidence that they had chosen to downplay how the behaviour affected them for fear of not being hired for a permanent role.
Now, the same tribunal has ordered the man to be suspended from practising as a lawyer and to pay a combined $73,000 in compensation and legal fees.
The tribunal compared his behaviour to inappropriate conduct by other lawyers it had penalised, such as James Gardner-Hopkins, Richard Dean Palmer and a โMr Qโ.
Gardner-Hopkins was suspended for touching five interns inappropriately, also at a Christmas party. Palmer was suspended for taking female interns to a sex shop and for a series of inappropriate emails, and Mr Q drunkenly offered a colleague โthe best orgasmโ of her life in a taxi ride home from a work event.
The tribunal found that, in the latest case, the manโs conduct was not strictly sexual or predatory, although it had sexual elements to it.
In comparing the case to Palmerโs, the tribunal said both involved โdisregard for junior staff, and in both cases the junior staff were stressed and anxious as a result of the practitionerโs conductโ and that this was โmore invasive, humiliating and offensive than Mr Palmerโs conductโ.
The tribunal said the man could be described as โcompletely out of controlโ.
โWhat I think is funny, other people may not, I supposeโ
After the two incidents, the senior lawyer apologised to his affected colleagues, referred himself to a psychologist and reduced his alcohol intake significantly, before going sober altogether. He is now approaching four years of sobriety.
In his affidavit to the tribunal earlier this year, he described his conduct as a โjoke gone too farโ and said he hadnโt intended to offend anyone.
โIโve got a forthright sense of humour and can be provocative, and alcohol doesnโt help that,โ he said.
โWhat I think is funny, other people may not, I suppose.โ
The tribunal said the manโs sobriety was commendable, and it appeared he had made a full commitment to discovering and dealing with the factors which led him to behave as he did.
โWe consider that [the lawyerโs] response has been significantly better than most other practitioners with whom we have dealt, who have had alcohol misuse problems,โ the tribunal said in a decision released today.
Because of this, it had opted to significantly reduce the period of suspension he might otherwise have been given.
โThis is because we consider that one of the purposes of suspension, namely the opportunity for rehabilitation, has largely been served.
โWe are satisfied that he is, in the absence of intoxication, a skilful and solid lawyer and a considerate and supportive colleague and mentor.โ
The manโs name will continue to be suppressed to allow him time to appeal against the decision.
Jeremy Wilkinson is an Open Justice reporter based in Manawatลซ, covering courts and justice issues with an interest in tribunals. He has been a journalist for nearly a decade and has worked for NZME since 2022.