Practicing law here can be such a drag

updated 4:58 p.m. ET July 25, 2006

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - A bald, mustachioed lawyer turned up at court wearing a skirt and blouse and toting a purse to protest a lack of care and sensitivity among New Zealand's male-dominated judiciary, a newspaper reported Tuesday.

Rob Moodie, 67, arrived at Wellington's High Court on Monday in a navy blue woman's suit complete with diamond brooch and lace-topped stockings over his hairy legs, The Dominion Post reported.

"I will now, as a lawyer, be wearing women's clothing," Moodie said. He said he wants the court to address him as "Ms. Alice" — and that his wife and three children support his protest.

His attire, he insisted, is to highlight the insensitive "old boys' network" of New Zealand's judiciary.

"My confidence in the male ethos is zilch. It's a culture of intimidation, authority, power and control," the high-profile lawyer said.

Moodie said that although he is heterosexual he was born with an innate understanding of the female gender.

Calls to Moodie's family home rang unanswered Tuesday.

His protest was prompted by frustration over a long-running case involving a farming couple held responsible for a bridge built by the army on their land that collapsed, killing a beekeeper.

He told The Dominion Post that the "last straw" was last month's Court of Appeal ruling that ordered the couple — who have already sold their farm to fund their legal efforts — to pay the army $6,200 in costs.

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