Risk-averse by trade, most lawyers easily recognise the line between appropriate and inappropriate professional conduct. But when dealing with clients, law firms are sometimes willing to blur that line.

Numerous women told Legal Week sister title Corporate Counsel that sexual harassment by clients is not uncommon in the legal industry, with stories ranging from uncomfortable comments to repeated unwanted propositions to assault.

Women often do not report these incidents, fearing retaliation or lack of support from their firms, many of which do not have policies against client harassment.

Women who did tell someone at their firm about business development-related harassment often had their concerns dismissed. That is what happened to one female lawyer, who requested to remain anonymous, when she reported an experience of inappropriate conduct to a firm colleague.

She was an associate pursuing partnership at a large law firm, interested in building a book of business. He was a senior lawyer at another firm who had referred a client to her and, based on her performance, said he looked forward to referring more work. The two met for drinks at his hotel to discuss additional business opportunities.

But things escalated when he pressed her for sex and became aggressive. She managed to escape, and relayed what happened to the senior partner with whom she had worked for almost a decade. Expecting support from her mentor and colleague, instead she said he brushed her off, saying her story was not credible because she was “not that hot.”

Almost every woman interviewed said they experienced or knew women who experienced client harassment. Only one said she had seen a firm drop a client, in a case of serious harassment.

“I don’t know any one of my female friends who have been in a law firm or even in-house who haven’t seen or experienced that,” said Jean Lee, president and chief executive officer of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association.

In 2017, around 20% of equity partners were women, a number that has changed little in recent years. Some women attribute this to the unique challenges female lawyers face when cultivating new client relationships, such as harassment and misinterpreted invitations to business-related dinners or drinks.

“A lot of business is developed socially. So if I’m a counsel or new partner and I really am seeking to build my profile in whatever my practice area is and I’m taking potential clients out for dinners or lunches, a line can often be very blurry,” said Gwen Mellor, a partner and law firm management consultant at the Zeughauser Group. “And so I think all along the development of an lawyer, you can face challenges with regard to clients. You want to be seen as smart and directive, but also kind and interesting to work with. It can be very tough. Very tough.”

In recent years, the pressure to build business has been particularly high. Many firms are just starting to see a post-recession increase in demand for legal services. However, there is more competition for that work than ever. Increasingly cost-conscious clients are handling matters in-house, automating legal work or turning to alternative service providers.

Lee said the harassment taken for granted as part of business development influenced her decision to leave firm work for an in-house position.

“That was one of the number one drivers for why I didn’t want to be at a firm,” she said. “I didn’t want to do business development. Especially as an Asian-American woman ... there is a certain stereotype that follows you and when you speak up you get more backlash, because they don’t expect you to do that.”

A survey from the International Bar Association conducted by legal research firm Acritas found clients were behind nearly one in five instances of sexual harassment or assault, based on results as of November 2018.

But many lawyers do not report client harassment, fearing they will be forced off the case, kept off of future career-advancing opportunities and labelled a troublemaker. And such fears are not unfounded. One senior associate at a US law firm told Corporate Counsel that she had seen female lawyers experiencing client harassment who “came forward and were blacklisted.”

Reluctant to antagonise clients, few law firms have policies in place to address inappropriate client behaviour. Of the more than 50 law firms contacted about third-party harassment policies for this article, only four said said they have policies in place. The others said they did not have them, declined to comment or did not respond.

Lee said she has also not heard of in-house legal departments with policies specifically against the harassment of outside counsel.

“Having clear policies with respect to what to do if you’re harassed by a client is critical, and I think that’s something many firms don’t have,” said Marcie Borgal Shunk, the president and founder of legal intelligence firm The Tilt Institute. “They’re not specifically having that conversation and explaining to their partners or their associates how to handle that type of situation.”

For more, see:

• 'I feel that I have isolated myself' - one female lawyer's experience of filing a sexual harassment complaint

• Two thirds of female lawyers have experienced sexual harassment at work, research finds

• Sexual harassment in law - a bigger problem than firms are willing to admit?