Steph Dyhrberg: lawyer representing victims of former Russell McVeagh partner found guilty of sexual assault on Gardner-Hopkins returning to law

The lawyer representing victims of a former Russell McVeagh partner, whose behaviour helped ignite New Zealand’s #MeToo movement, says it’ll be up to clients whether they want to work with him.

James Gardner-Hopkins was found guilty of six misconduct charges by the Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal in 2021 - and suspended for three years.

He’s now been granted a new practising certificate by the Law Society, which says he’s fit to return as a barrister.

Steph Dyhrberg says the decision will put some clients off, but others may not see it as a barrier.

"That's the thing about having a practicing certificate, you've sort of got a brand on you from the Law Society that you're a fit and suitable person."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Framebridge, a lawyer convicted of groping students at a Russell
McVeigh Christmas party, can now practice again. This is an
update on the story today. James Gardner Hopkins remember him
banned from working as a lawyer for three years after
his twenty twenty one conviction for six charges of misconduct,
including groping the breasts and the buttocks of three female

(00:21):
law students. The Law Society has now cleared him to
return to the profession. Steph Diiinberg is a lawyer who
represented the victims of James Gardner Hopkins and joins me now, Steph,
good evening.

Speaker 2 (00:33):
Good evening.

Speaker 1 (00:34):
How are your clients feeling about this?

Speaker 2 (00:38):
I haven't spoken to them yet, I have made contact
off them support.

Speaker 1 (00:43):
How do you expect they'll take the news?

Speaker 2 (00:46):
I wouldn't have thought they'd be too happy, disappointed.

Speaker 1 (00:51):
Does everyone deserve a second chance?

Speaker 2 (00:56):
Well, people deserve second chances, Ryan, But this is about
whether somebody is actually a fit and proper person under
our regulations to hold a practicing certificate. It's really a
high standard. It's not like doing a sentence and then
you come back into the fold and maybe you do
a spell under probation and then you know, it's sort

(01:16):
of you move on with your life. You actually have
to show that you're a fit and proper person and
circumstances where you've been found not to.

Speaker 1 (01:24):
Be, and you're not convinced the law Society has done
I mean they say they have done that and clared
him to return to the profession. You're saying you're not
convinced by it.

Speaker 2 (01:35):
Well, like the minority in the panel, I remain skeptical.
I have to say I haven't seen all of the
evidence they've seen, of course, but in the commentary I've seen,
you know, the evidence that I've seen suggests that James
Garden Hopkins hasn't really learned a huge amount from what
he's been through and what he's put other people through.

(01:56):
His behavior during his suspension yield the outcome. He appealed
his suspension, it got increased. Of course. He also challenged
a couple of judges who wouldn't give him leave to
appear as a lay advocate in court proceedings. During his suspension.
He went and looked at people's profiles, women's profiles on
LinkedIn who was speaking up against his readmission. So none

(02:19):
of those things filled me with a great deal of
confidence that he's really learned a lesson he needs to learn.

Speaker 1 (02:24):
Do you reckon anyone will hire him?

Speaker 2 (02:28):
Well, he's going to be embarristers. So it's up to
clients whether they choose to engage him for legal work.
And there will be I'm sure people who will not
see this as a grave impediment to working with him.
There will be other people who will say, I'm not
really sure that this is the right person for us.
I'm not sure that he's got the right sort of judgment,

(02:49):
or maybe the brand isn't when we want to associate
with But that's entirely a matter for the public. That's
their choice. And that's the thing about having a practicing certificate.
You know, you've sort of got a brand on you
from the legal profession, from the law society that you
are a fit and suitable person to be practicing as
a lawyer. So that's what that means. It's quite a
significant privilege, but it's also carries responsibilities.

Speaker 1 (03:14):
All right, Steph, appreciate that update. Thank you. Steff Daarberg
a lawyer who represented the victims of James Gardner Hopkins
and by the way, the law society doesn't normally tell
us stuff though. When they make decisions like this, they
don't usually make the decisions public, but they said they
did so in this case because of well, the level
of public interest that they have had and the reflection
on the legal profession as a whole. For more from

(03:35):
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