The New Zealand Law Society is putting in place new rules to combat a history of harassment in the profession.
The legal profession has been under scrutiny recently over allegations of sexual harassment and bullying.
Law firm Russell McVeagh made headlines earlier this year after allegations of sexual assault on a number of summer interns.
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A recent Colmar Brunton Survey of 3516 lawyers, commissioned by the Law Society, showed 18 percent had been subject to harassment and inappropriate behaviour.
In March a working group was established, independent of the Law Society, to identify the problems and present a set of solutions.
Law Society President Kathryn Beck said the working group presented a comprehensive report on December 7.
She said the group, chaired by ex-Governor-General Dame Silvia Cartwright, had provided "valuable insight" into the issues within the profession.
"We wanted to know what was wrong with the current system and have received compelling independent answers including that conduct and reporting standards are unclear and must be addressed so to remove any confusion over what is expected."
The proposed changes will affect the processes of reporting and taking action on harassment, assault and bullying cases within the workplace.
These include prohibition on victimisation of people who report unacceptable behaviour in good faith and a more flexible two-stage approach to confidentiality for complainants.
The Colmar Brunton survey said that only seven percent of those who had experienced inappropriate behaviour in the last five years had reported it to the company.
This meant that in the other 93 percent of cases, there was no formal process or investigation into the incident, and no penalty for the bad behaviour.
The Law Society will also look into a mandatory training scheme to educate lawyers on addressing cultural problems in the profession.
Ms Beck said some of the recommendations are complex but will "insist on making the legal community a safer place for all."
She said the Minister for Justice Andrew Little had been notified of the recommendation, and would be meeting with the Law Society in the New Year to discuss the changes.
"It will be important to take care to ensure there are no unintended consequences.
"A consultative and collaborative approach is needed, and this is essential to ensure we achieve our objective of healthy, safe, respectful and inclusive legal workplaces."
Newshub.
