Lawyer Antoine Vey, accused of harassment and toxic management, tried by disciplinary council

JUSTICE – He is used to defending the accused; Julian Assange or the rugby players Oscar Jégou and Hugo Auradou are among the most famous. But this Tuesday, November 19, it is he who appears before the disciplinary council of the council of the Paris bar. Lawyer Antoine Vey is on trial after complaints filed for harassment by former colleagues in his firm.

The structure in question Vey & Associés was created in 2020 after the departure of its former partner Éric Dupond-Moretti who became Minister of Justice. The case judged this Tuesday began in early 2023 with an ethics investigation and revelations from Liberation on the working atmosphere that reigned there.

But she took a legal turn after complaints, some of which for facts dating back to 2017 and 2018, that is to say at a time before the creation of her new cabinet. The first complainant, who requested anonymity, denounced the behavior ” toxic ” of the lawyer. “ In a practice, long hours are classic. The problem was the atmosphere was so noxious: we were always at fault, Antoine spent his time manipulating us, giving orders then counter-orders, yelling. I couldn't take it so much anymore that I resigned after nine months.”she told AFP last January.

The degree of requirement in question

This complaint “ filed five years after the person left the firm has absolutely no basis”Antoine Vey then reacted. In the same way, he contests the twenty testimonies collected by Liberation former or current colleagues in his office denouncing actions or comments perceived as moral or sexual harassment.

“The question raised by this file is that of the degree of requirement in the firms of excellence, responds his lawyer Emmanuel Marsigny this Tuesday to franceinfo. Most of these young lawyers who complained were not able to satisfy. » His counsel plans to request a postponement of the hearing, which could result in sanctions ranging from warnings to disbarment.

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