A porn addicted law firm boss seen looking at objectionable material while at work – multiple times a day in some instances – has been found to have created a "toxic" and "emotionally unsafe" workplace.
The man's conduct while at work, the result of an addiction, has been highlighted in a recently released decision by the Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal, which found his "wilful blindness" to his employees' knowledge of his habit caused them to feel "horror, shock, disgust, discomfort, embarrassment, and shame".
He was suspended from practising law for three months, censured, and ordered to pay $5000 each to two of his former employees.
For years, the man's employees, who were all women, were "fleetingly but repeatedly" exposed to pornographic material he was viewing in his office.
While he "clicked out" of the objectionable sites when staff entered his office, they were exposed to snippets, and became "acutely aware" of his interest in the sexualised objectification of women.
"Consequently, they felt horror, shock, disgust, discomfort, embarrassment, and shame. Their work environment was thus rendered toxic and emotionally unsafe," the tribunal's decision revealed.
Some employees said they witnessed his behaviour "several times a day".
His office was arranged so that his computer screen faced the door, meaning staff were immediately exposed to the material when they entered the room. Not knowing his employees knew what he was doing, he resisted suggestions to rearrange the office.
For years, staff did not share their unhappiness with what was happening as they had become "anxious about adverse effects on their employment if they complained".
In 2022, he was confronted by a senior staffer who a junior employee had approached.
He admitted to having a pornography addiction and promised to block it and get help. He was caught again just two months later.
In January 2023, he was again caught by a staff member who had just returned from a holiday. He initially denied the allegation, but admitted to it after another similar complaint was made.
He would retreat to work from home in February 2023. In April that year, two employees quit the firm, and complained to the New Zealand Law Society Complaints Service.
He has since stopped practising law.
The tribunal said that since the complaint, the man had been undergoing treatment for his addiction.
The tribunal said evidence from his therapist supported that the man's conduct was born from an addiction that arose from depression.
His viewing of objectionable material stemmed from a compulsion, not a desire for pleasure.
"Several personal stressors drove his compulsion to view the material at work, and the level of his compulsion explains why he found it difficult to resist relapse, despite having been put on notice by his staff," the decision said.
It said his compulsive behaviour had been "relegated to the past".
"Although it is little comfort to his employees, we accept that he was not in a healthy frame of mind during the period.
"We applaud his having taken steps to address it and are pleased to learn of the progress he has made."
The tribunal said its decision depended not on the fact he watched pornography, but on the "reckless manner" he did so.
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