Although women graduate from law school at a higher rate than men, many of them leave the profession completely and legal firms, alleging “discrimination” and “harassment” as their reasons.
This flight of employees exposes a murky side of a sector that is otherwise characterized by public trust, moral rectitude, and a professional code of ethics. Legal professionals in Ontario have filed hundreds of anonymous complaints about their colleagues, accusing them of harassment and discrimination.
Because they fear reprisals, few file formal complaints. Alert lawyers frequently experience negative consequences at work or have their career paths impeded.
Attorneys are essential to society. Among their responsibilities are to protect our finances, preserve our privacy, fight for our rights, and manage our estates after we pass away.
I considered him a mentor.” Jenny was pursuing her childhood ambition of working as an articling student at a posh downtown Toronto company.
She quit her job after just four years because she was so unhappy with it.
Jenny claims a partner at the firm she joined in 2018 brought her to industry mixers and started a romantic relationship with her; her true identity is being kept at her request due to fear of reprisal. He soon asked her to move in with him, on the condition that their relationship remain confidential. Jenny claims that he quickly turned verbally and psychologically abusive.
She experienced a sense of imprisonment. He was a young yet renowned criminal defense attorney. She was concerned about how to get out of this situation because of his impact on her reputation and
To preserve Jenny’s privacy, The Star/IJB is not publishing the identity of her previous partner and coworker. He turned down several offers of an interview.
According to Peter Downard, his attorney, “this was a personal and consensual relationship between two adults… with respect to the inference that [my client] engaged in an inappropriate relationship while his partner was completing her articles under the supervision of another lawyer in his firm.”
Jenny faced a dilemma that scares many women in the legal field who would like to speak up against inappropriate behavior on the part of a male colleague.
People are really afraid that if they voice their complaints, they’ll be called troublemakers. This makes legislation different because of the disparity in power, this culture.
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