Lawyers disciplined over ‘offensive, demeaning' LGBTQ ‘joke' posted in elevators
Two veteran barristers have admitted to posting an offensive 'joke' about the LGBTQ community in the elevators inside a Melbourne legal chambers building in 2022, which sparked an investigation and led to official disciplinary action.
John F. Perry, who has been a lawyer since 1979, admitted to emailing a letter to a colleague comparing gay, lesbian and transgender people to 'mud screwers' and suggesting LGBTQ lawyers were unfairly favoured for work, according to findings by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
The colleague, barrister Robert G. Squirrell, then printed and posted the letter – which used a logo similar to the official Victorian Bar logo – inside four elevators in the Owen Dixon Chambers East building, where it was seen by legal professionals and members of the public.
Squirrell, who has also been a lawyer since 1979, also admitted to his conduct.
The admissions form part of the formal disciplinary action brought against Perry and Squirrell by the Legal Services Board and Commissioner, and VCAT found the pair had 'engaged in professional misconduct' that was 'conduct discreditable to a barrister'. VCAT found the pair's conduct had the hallmarks of a juvenile prank had it not been for the men's ages and their 'offensive' actions.
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In his email, Perry wrote: 'This is going in the lifts tomorrow.' The letter attached inside the email was headed: 'Establishment of LGBTQMS Review Committee' – an insulting play on the term LGBTQI.
'Member [sic] of the Bar identifying with one (or more) of the minority groups represented by the anagram above have expressed concerns that briefs from various large litigators both governmental and private have not been disproportionately directed to them,' the letter said.
'The letters 'MS' may require explanation. It refers to mud screwers, because, as the American Jewish comedian the late and great Lenny Bruce once said – 'Some guys would screw mud'.'
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