A senior associate at Allens Arthur Robinson has been allowed to keep his job despite being found guilty of assault by Melbourne Magistrates' Court.

Richard Morgon is a 45 year-old associate at Allens' Melbourne office and also a keen cyclist. Last January, he was out on his bike when a car pulled out in front of him at a junction and the occupant gave him a "two fingered salute". Morgon caught up with the vehicle and an altercation ensued, culminating with a helmet-clad Morgon head-butting the driver and drawing blood. Nutting someone is an unwise move at the best of times, but doubly so when the driver turns out to be the fabulously-moustachioed Greg Davies, the head of the Police Association in Victoria.

    Davies' lustrous moustache giving its own two fingered salute yesterday

Despite Morgon claiming that any helmet to head contact was purely accidental, Melbourne Magistrate Belinda Wallington wasn't convinced and said the incident was fuelled by "testosterone and hubris". And those qualities didn't seem dampened by the courtroom; when Davies was asked whether he regretted his hand gesture, he responded maturely "not particularly, he was remonstrating first".

Morgon was found guilty of one count of unlawful assault and one count of assault with a bike helmet. But he was spared a criminal conviction and released on a three month good behaviour bond. Plus he gets to keep his job. Allens told Lawyers Weekly that Morgon "disclosed the incident to the firm as soon as he was charged. He has not sought publicity on what is essentially a personal matter and has made no public comment, nor do we intend to on his behalf".
 
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Comments

Roll On Friday 14 September 14 20:40

With these news stories it's interesting to know whatever happened to the key figures. Curiously, it appears Richard Morgon is no longer with Allens - a check of the firm's website confirms this. Richard Morgon doesn't appear to be on the Legal Services Board (Vic) Register of Legal Practitioners, and he's not on the Victoria Bar Roll. A Google search also doesn't come up with anyone (although it does have searches for Richard Morgan with an "a", a more common surname). I wonder if Richard Morgon is still practising as a lawyer, or if he spends his time watching cycle competitions? A real mystery.