New Zealand’s practising lawyers have been sent a survey which aims to gather information on workplace environments in the legal profession.

The New Zealand Law Society has commissioned research firm Colmar Brunton to carry out the survey, which has been sent to over 13,250 New Zealand-based lawyers.

The survey is one of a number of actions the Law Society is taking to tackle sexual and other harassment problems in legal workplaces.

“It is important to carry out some robust research into the behaviours lawyers have experienced in their workplaces,” Law Society President Kathryn Beck says.

“To ensure we get as representative a picture as possible, we invite all lawyers to participate in the survey, regardless of what their experiences have been.

“The survey is completely confidential and all responses will be collected and analysed by Colmar Brunton, who are very experienced in carrying out research such as this. Each lawyer will be sent a unique code which only they will be able to access to participate.

“This is an excellent opportunity for us to assess the magnitude of the issues and workplace culture problems in our profession. We must all work to develop solutions to overcome them and to move forward. I urge all New Zealand lawyers to complete this survey. It is a chance for us all to act together to improve this great profession we have chosen to work in.”