24-Hour Days, $8K Short, and Forced Movie Nights
If you thought your legal gig had its moments, buckle up. Melbourne’s now-defunct Erudite Legal has been fined over $50,000 for what can only be described as a masterclass in how not to treat a junior lawyer.
A report in the AFR reported on the “egregious” all-nighters, 79-hour work weeks, and yes, even a compulsory 1 AM screening of the ice hockey movie Miracle so she could grasp her boss’s “philosophical position”. Because, naturally, that’s peak legal training.
This first-time lawyer, in her brief three-week tenure, was reportedly underpaid by about $8,000 for over 225 hours of work, ultimately receiving a mere $1,000.
Her workdays stretched from 12 to 18 hours, including two 24-hour marathons. The court heard that Shivesh Kuksal, the firm’s sole shareholder, didn’t just stop at extreme hours.
He allegedly lectured her on classics, philosophy, and his “superior IQ,” and on one occasion, after a 14-hour Saturday ending at 1 AM, instructed her to watch Miracle, texting her quotes from the film to ensure compliance. She finished the cinematic ordeal around 3:20 AM.
The working conditions were described as “repugnant,” with the lawyer forced to share a bed with the office manager in a hotel room for several nights instead of going home.
Such demands exacerbated her pre-existing medical condition, complicated her mother’s discharge from hospital, and even saw her working on leave taken for her ex-partner’s funeral. Magistrate Kathryn Fawcett found Erudite Legal’s conduct constituted a “repudiatory breach of contract,” noting the firm “monopolised” the lawyer’s time and isolated her from family.
In a display of what the magistrate called a “lack of contrition,” Erudite Legal didn’t defend the case nor did it comply with a court order to rectify the underpayments. The ruling marks a rare use of Fair Work Act laws against unreasonable hours in the notoriously demanding legal industry.
While the firm was fined $22,200 for failing to pay on time and $26,640 for the unreasonable hours, its deregistration shortly before the ruling means the lawyer might not see that money.
