WILL IRVINE (HE/HIM)
NOTE: By the time this article is printed, voting will have concluded and results may be published. This article is designed to shed light on the process, not to persuade students one way or another.
CW: Mentions of sexual abuse
In 2018, the legal world was rocked by revelations of a massive culture of sexual abuse at Russell McVeagh, one of the country’s top law firms. The allegations reportedly included sexual abuse involving students at Victoria University law school, something that the University knew, and was acting on, but did not make public until the 2018 scandal. The offenders reportedly had significant power over the women, and leveraged it to demand sexual favours. Many of the allegations centred around the firm’s Christmas parties, which were described as having a “frat” culture. Per RNZ, one offender even showed up on campus and came into contact with an intern.
As soon as the allegations came to light, all of Aotearoa’s Law schools ceased engagement with Russell McVeagh, including cancelling talks and banning the firm from recruitment fairs. Since then, all but Victoria University of Wellington and The University of Waikato have re-engaged. As yet VUWLSS has not, due largely to the fact that the allegations came from Vic students. Now, six years on, VUWLSS is undergoing a long and substantive process to re-engage with the firm. Last week, as that process reached its conclusion, Law students were invited to participate in a vote.
In meetings with students, senior Russell McVeagh staff, including CEO Jo Avenell, stressed that the recommendations of the Bazley Report (the commission investigating the allegations) had all been addressed. Students were also given the opportunity to ask questions, and pressed the representatives on whether there had been a genuine culture change. The response from Avenell and a HR representative present was that a significant number of partners present at the time were now no longer with the company, and that policy “guardrails” had added up over time to produce a different company culture.
In a letter to VUWLSS President Valentyn Santhara, outgoing Dean of Law Lee Godden continued her stance of neutrality, but reaffirmed that the University was receiving regular safety reports from Russell McVeagh.
In a series of roundtables hosted by rep groups from around the Law school, students stressed the need for interns to be able to make their concerns known anonymously, without fear of repercussions or career damage. An anonymous collaborative document was suggested, alongside ideas like internship “speed-dating”.
In a statement made to Salient, VUW Feminist Law Society President Vanessa Williams said that “like the rest of the Representative Group Committee, [we] have been completely neutral throughout this process”. However, she added that VUWFLS was particularly concerned with upholding a reasonable standard of safety across the profession, so that “students are safe regardless of where they may go for work.” Williams also clarified that the Representative Group Committee decision was made with the interests of survivors in mind, and that all survivors were consulted by the Faculty and did not raise any concerns with re-engagement.
For the first time, almost all current Law students were not at the University during the scandal and subsequent protest movement. Because of this, rep groups and VUWLSS alike agree that it is essential to make a decision now, before the events fade into history.