A sexual harassment case has been brought before the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia against Perth barrister and solicitor Jeremy Scudds by a former law clerk who worked at his Perth boutique criminal law firm, Porter Scudds.
Scudds is a prominent lawyer in Western Australia having worked as a lecturer, social worker apart from several decades’ work in personal injury, commercial and criminal litigation work.
The female law clerk, who is 40 years younger than Scudds, alleges she experienced sexual harassment and a hostile work environment during her employment period from September 2023 to February 2024. Legal representation for the clerk has been secured through Clayton Utz.
According to the statement of claim, the alleged harassment began during the clerk’s initial job interview, where Scudds reportedly told her “you can’t be emotional, I need you to not be emotional if I am hiring a woman”.
The allegations further detail instances where Scudds made comparative comments about his wife, telling the clerk she does “not put on weight” like her, and noting the clerk appeared “taller” after trying on his wife’s court robes.
The complainant claims Scudds told her good lawyers “need to act out the case” before allegedly pressing himself against her from behind and reaching “his arms around her and across her breasts”.
In her filing, the clerk stated the alleged harassment left her feeling “offended, intimidated and humiliated”. The legal action seeks declarations that Scudds sexually harassed her, created a hostile work environment, and that Porter Scudds law firm bears vicarious liability for his behavior. She is also pursuing damages and costs.
Both Scudds and Porter Scudds have formally denied all allegations through their legal representatives, Tindall Gask Bentley Lawyers. In their defense, the firm contends that on the day of the alleged physical incident, both Jeremy Scudds and part-owner Sutherlan Scudds had met with the clerk to address “concerns in relation to her quality of work and attitude at work”. According to their account, this meeting concluded when the clerk became upset.
The defense has also noted that Scudds declined to provide a job reference for the clerk two weeks before she filed a police complaint. They further stated that “no charges have been preferred” by police following her complaint.
The matter is scheduled for mediation in early August 2025.
