Biglaw

Former Biglaw Partner Under Fire For Allegedly Making Racist, Sexist Comments

Find out about the scandal that has ended an illustrious legal career.

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Lady Barbara Judge (Photo by Nader Daoud/Wiki Commons)

Lady Barbara Judge has a helluva résumé.

She received her BA in medieval history at University of Pennsylvania and went on to get her JD from NYU Law, where she was an editor of the Law Review. After graduation, she worked in the corporate department of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. She then lateraled to Kaye Scholer, and within five years she made partner there.

In 1980, Judge became the youngest-ever SEC commissioner. When she returned to the private sector, she served as executive director at a British merchant bank. She later became the first woman executive director of Rupert Murdoch’s News International. She’s served on numerous corporate boards, received the Commander of the Order of the British Empire honor, and been called the most well-connected woman in the UK.

Her most recent role was as chair of the Institute of Directors (IoD), a UK members organization that works to promote company directors and corporate governance. Amid a scandal that alleges she bullied her staff and made racist and sexist comments, she stepped down from that role, after an  investigation by British firm Hill Dickinson.

There were 41 allegations of inappropriate behavior against Judge, and one incident of racist and sexist comments was allegedly caught on audio tape. Judge resigned after a five-hour meeting of the IoD council where the results of the Hill Dickinson investigation were discussed, and after the council decided to suspend her.

As the Guardian reports, Judge’s comments, thought to have been covertly recorded by the IoD director general, disparage both black and pregnant employees:

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She is also claimed to have said: “We have three inexperienced people doing a job [on the IoD’s secretariat] when one experienced person could do it and they are making mistakes. And so the problem is we have one black and we have one pregnant woman and that is the worst combination we could possibly have. No, two blacks and one pregnant woman. I couldn’t believe it!”

The words are understood to have been recorded covertly by the IoD’s director general, Stephen Martin.

Despite the shocking words that were allegedly recorded, Judge denies the allegations. She may have resigned, but that doesn’t mean she is going quietly into that good night. Her resignation letter “strongly refute[s] the allegations” and calls the investigation into the allegations flawed:

In her resignation letter Judge said: “I continue to strongly refute the allegations made against me and remain deeply disturbed by the gross and conspiratorial mishandling of the process which has led to the damaging circumstances in which I and the institute are now placed.

“The clear flaws in this process were identified in the statement I read to the council yesterday, which included the institute’s failure to give me an opportunity to reply to the allegations, the leaking of a confidential legal document to the press and the misrepresentations made by the institute and its investigators to my legal advisers.”

Deputy chair Sir Ken Olisa and non-executive Arnold Wagner also resigned alongside Judge, and Olisa did not mince any words when criticizing the IoD for its handling of the process:

Olisa, who is also the first black lord-lieutenant of Greater London, wrote in his resignation letter: “Instead of showcasing good governance, we have found ourselves in a surreal world of flawed processes, flagrant disregard for the principles of natural justice and a roughshod journey over the laws of the Institute.

“Senior leaders covertly recording private conversations, systemically disregarding due process and leaking confidential material to the press have combined to make the IoD a laughing stock in the court of public opinion.”

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Regardless of whether the proper procedure was followed, it’s clear Judge’s exemplary pedigree didn’t provide a shield against the allegations against her.

headshotKathryn Rubino is an editor at Above the Law. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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