different charities and organisations through its pro bono work. Recently, Russell McVeagh has assisted RainbowYOUTH on its merger with OuterSpaces. Rankings Russell McVeagh is considered one of New Zealand's leading law firms, and has achieved high rankings in Banking and Finance, Competition and Antitrust, Corporate and M&A, Capital Markets, Dispute Resolution, Project Development, Real Estate, Restructuring and Insolvency, Tax, and Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT). Controversy In 2018 the firm was criticised in the media for its handling of sexual assault allegations, levelled against two senior male lawyers. It was alleged that those lawyers engaged in non-consensual and consensual sexual acts with female intern students. These allegations led all the six university law schools in New Zealand to cut ties with Russell McVeagh. In 2018, the firm ordered an external investigation into the allegations of sexual assault and harassment. Dame Margaret Bazley was engaged to lead the inquiry into the claims of sexual harassment and assault. Bazley's report was published in July 2018. She found that the firm had a "work hard, play hard" culture that involved excessive drinking and in some cases inappropriate behaviour, but that this culture had changed over the past couple of years. She also found failings in the firm's response to the incidents and made 48 recommendations for improvement, which were accepted by the firm. The president of the New Zealand Law Society, Kathryn Beck, said the report was an "important milestone in shining light into the dark corners of our profession" and that she hoped it would help improve the culture of New Zealand law firms. As of May 2019, the New Zealand law schools were re-evaluating whether they could resume a recruitment relationship with the firm. In February 2020, the firm said it had addressed the "majority" of Bazley's recommendations, including introducing a whistleblower service and a "speak-up" policy, but did not specifically comment on whether it had introduced a 10-year change implementation plan, a sexual harassment and sexual assault policy or a bullying policy. Steph Dyhrberg, convenor of the Wellington Women Lawyers' Association, said she was disappointed by the response. In December 2020, CEO Jo Avenell said the firm had taken steps to address the issue of junior lawyers working long hours including by ensuring that workloads were better spread around the firm. In February 2021, the firm said it had addressed nearly 95% of Bazley's recommendations, including introducing a whistleblower service