Student Engagement Committee (SEC) - Shadowing Program
The July intake of the shadowing program commenced this week with 40 students inducted on Monday morning by Adam Rollnik, Paul Hannan, Daniel Nguyen, and Abilene Singh. The program matches a barrister mentor with tertiary students and is particularly aimed at students who otherwise do not have links to the Bar or may face barriers seeking a career at the Bar. Thanks to Bonnie Renou, Erik Dober, and Tim Farhall from the Student Engagement Committee, and Lisa Paykel from the Bar Office for managing the program.
Members of the Bar are invited to attend a “town hall” meeting where they can ask questions of BCL and the Bar Council regarding the acquisition of 200 Queen Street, Melbourne.
On Wednesday, members received my email announcing BCL’s acquisition of 200 Queen Street, Melbourne. The purchase will ensure the sustainability of our unique BCL chambers model well into the future. A "town hall" meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, 30 July 2024, at 4:30pm in the Neil McPhee Room to address any questions you may have about this important development. If you would like to submit questions prior to the meeting, please complete the form here, and we will endeavour to answer them on the evening.
At our monthly meeting last night, Bar Council worked efficiently through its agenda of largely regular business. We approved a further three-year agreement for the provision of library services to the Bar by the Law Library of Victoria, approved a pilot scheme for the provision of financial counselling services to our members who find themselves in financial strife, and reviewed the BCL Chambers Rules of Occupancy and established a BCL Liaison Committee to act as a conduit between tenants and BCL. We continue to make decisions necessary to implement the changes that we have made to the Bar Exam and Readers’ Course, and I am happy to report that this work is proceeding well and on time. Members who wish to know more about the business of Bar Council can read the minutes of our meetings in the Members’ section of the website.
I hope everyone enjoyed the King’s birthday long weekend and the short week that has followed. On behalf of the Bar, I congratulate our members who were recognised on Monday in the King’s Birthday Honours List: the Honourable Kevin Harcourt Bell AO KC appointed an Officer in the General Division (AO) in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the judiciary, law, and human rights through education and reform; and his Honour Judge Michael Patrick Bourke AM appointed a Member in the General Division (AM) for significant service to the judiciary, to the law, and to the community.
