Barrister fined £500 after calling lawyer a 'hysterical woman'
A BARRISTER has been officially reprimanded for claiming that female lawyers are hysterical, overemotional and intemperate.
Feliks Kwiatkowski, who was also fined, argued women had a tendency to "over-egg the pudding". But his comments were described as "reprehensible" by the Bar Tribunals and Adjudication Service. A disciplinary hearing was told he had made sexist comments to a female barrister before they were to face each other in court.
The female barrister - referred to only as Person X - said he had made the slurs outside Worthing County Court, West Sussex, in November 2019. Recalling their exchange she said: "I said that I felt when someone uses the phrase 'hysterical woman' to describe a legal professional they are in rather unpleasant territory."
Person X told the tribunal that Mr Kwiatkowski had also branded women intemperate.
She moved away from Mr Kwiatkowski and sat next to another barrister - referred to as Witness A - because she felt shaken. Witness A told the tribunal Mr Kwiatkowski's behaviour was of a "hectoring or bullying nature".
In his statement to the tribunal, Mr Kwiatkowski, from Haywards Heath, West Sussex, said: "Female solicitors and ancillary staff, particularly at entry level, can be overemotional and can over-egg the pudding, going overboard in routine.
"I do find women tend to be more emotional than men.That is a biological fact rather than an insult."
Tribunal chairman Jonathan Glasson QC ruled Mr Kwiatkowski's actions were "seriously reprehensible" and "grave" and amounted to misconduct. He was told to pay a £500 fine and £500 for legal costs.