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In Brief Issue #1099
21Apr
On Monday, along with many of you, I attended a ceremonial sitting of the Federal Court of Australia to welcome the appointment of Chief Justice Mortimer. The Victorian Bar was represented by Vice President Elizabeth Bennett S.C. who spoke of the Chief Justice’s many achievements as a member of our Bar and of her judicial acumen in marrying the dignity, seriousness, and importance of the work of the Court with empathy and mutual respect for all who come before it. Her Honour’s dedication to community, justice and legal issues concerning our First Nations people was recognised by all speakers. In response, the Chief Justice noted the presence in Court of representatives of the Cape York Land Council, the Gur A Baradharaw Kod Sea and Land Council, the Kimberley Land Council, the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation and the Boonwurrung Land and Sea Council. She also acknowledged the presence on the bench of the Hon. Michael Black AC KC, who as Chief Justice was inspired to have the words of the Constitution written on the windows of the Court. I know I sound parochial, but it is pleasing to once again have a member of our Bar at the head of our national Court.
On Monday evening I attended a tour of Government House with the Victorian Bar’s Rainbow and Allies social group. The tour was the initiative of Mr Anthony Howard AM KC, and was conducted by the excellent staff at Government House. We were warmly welcomed by Her Excellency, the Hon. Linda Dessau AC CVO, who acknowledged the difficulties still faced by members of the LGBTIQ+ community. It was a real pleasure to be joined also by the Hon. Howard Nathan AM KC and his partner Mr Ned Upton. I extend my thanks to the Governor and Mr Howard and to Member Andrew Maryniak KC and John Heard, who both did so much work to organise the event.
On Tuesday, I was joined by Executive Director Amanda Utt at the launch of the Victorian Legal Services Board CEO + Commissioner’s (VLSB+C) ‘Your Right to Ask’ public education campaign. It represents Victoria’s first joint legal sector public education campaign, and was developed alongside the Law Institute of Victoria, Victoria Legal Aid, the Federation of Community Legal Centres, Victoria Law Foundation, Legal Practitioners’ Liability Committee, the Consumer Action Law Centre, and Think HQ. The campaign responds to Recommendation 76 stemming from the Royal Commission into the Management of Police Informants, and is designed to educate our clients and other members of the public about lawyers’ ethical duties and obligations, particularly in relation to confidentiality, conflict of interest and legal professional privilege.
The Bar’s annual Junior Bar Conference will take place on the afternoon of Friday, June 23. It is open to barristers of up to 5 years’ call and will focus on practice development. We are very pleased to announce that Victoria’s Attorney General, the Hon Jaclyn Symes MP has agreed to speak. More information about the conference’s themes and speakers will be available soon.
The Open Justice Project is continuing this year after its successful 2021 launch. The Project is a collaboration between Monash University and the Victorian Bar, which provides high performing later year undergraduate and postgraduate students at Monash University with an opportunity to assist barristers with a range of tasks, including legal research, basic drafting, preparation of chronologies and summaries of evidence. But the benefits cut both ways: barrister Laura Hilly was full of praise for the assistance provided to her by a student who was “responsive, careful and clever” and “willing and able to respond at short notice to a request for assistance with research for submissions on a relatively urgent injunction application”. If you would like to participate, you can find out more about the Project via this link.
Finally, members of Bar Council continue to receive submissions and other material in relation to the proposed constitutional amendment to recognise our First Nations people and establish an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. As our President Sam Hay KC informed members last week, the topic has been placed on the agenda for an initial discussion by the Bar Council at its meeting next week on 27 April.
Have a restful weekend; wherever we commemorate ANZAC Day, be it at the dawn service, the football or elsewhere, we will remember our members and all those who have served our country. Lest we forget.
Georgina Schoff KC
Bar Roll No: 3347
It is with deep regret that the Bar informs members of the passing of Dr Elizabeth Brophy.
A funeral will be held to honour the life of Elizabeth at Tobin Brothers, 189 Boundary Road, North Melbourne Wednesday, 26 April 2023 commencing at 10:30am. Refreshments will be served at the conclusion of the service.
A private cremation will follow.
This funeral will be webcast live should you be unable to attend in person. Please visit tobinbrothers.com.au.
Elizabeth Brophy, one of four siblings born into a sheep farming family, spent her early life in Willaura, about 30 kilometres south of Ararat, where she developed a lifelong affinity with nature and the outdoors.
Having previously worked as a social worker and community advocate, Elizabeth was admitted to practice as a solicitor on 3 May 1982 and signed the Bar Roll on 18 November 1999.
Elizabeth was a well organised and calm barrister with an outstanding knowledge of elder law and its associated legislation. She was the first to know of and share developments in her specialised field.
Elizabeth also maintained a keen interest in alternative dispute resolution and gained expertise in the regulation of health and medical care. She appeared and advised in the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety; the Guardianship List at VCAT; inquests into aged care, health, and mental health; medical decision making for children and adults; and aged care and health legislation. She served as a Member of the Victorian Bar’s Dispute Resolution Committee and later the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee. She became a Nationally Accredited Mediator in 2008.
In addition to successfully building and maintaining a busy practice in her chosen field, Elizabeth completed her Doctorate of Philosophy at the University of Melbourne Law School in the regulation of health services, health practitioners and complementary medicines, the legal obligations of medical practitioners when incorporating integrative medicine and complementary and alternative medicine into conventional practice.
In her academic pursuits, Elizabeth was awarded the Medico-Legal Society of Victoria Academic Prize in 2002 and the Harold Luntz Thesis Prize in 2008. She generated numerous publications in her fields of expertise and regularly presented at international, national, and state conferences and seminars in the areas of elder law, mediation and the law related to integrative medicine and complementary medicine.
Elizabeth was held in high esteem by those who she appeared before, was opposed to, and represented and will be sadly missed by all. She has variously been described by her colleagues as having an encyclopaedic knowledge in her chosen field, a truly great exemplar of the best qualities of a member of our Bar, and a shining example of the benefits of collegiality. Her former clients recount the huge difference that she made to their lives and those of their family members.
Elizabeth was immensely proud of and deeply loved by her family including her two surviving brothers, their partners, her nieces and nephews and their children. Those closest to her will remember her always as stoic, fiercely independent, and amazingly optimistic. Her strength of mind was phenomenal and her outlook on the world enriched all those around her.
The Victorian Bar strives to provide a safe, and inclusive environment for all our members. We are pleased to announce that members now have access to a new Multi Faith Prayer Room.
Room 515 is located on Level 5 of Owen Dixon Chambers East and there is easy access to bathroom facilities on the floor. The room is a dedicated space for prayer and spiritual reflection. All members are welcome to use the room for these purposes when required. It is open between 8:00am and 6:00pm, but is available via swipe card access outside of those hours. No booking is required.
We would ask all members wishing to use this facility to follow the guidelines posted in the room and to keep the room in a neat and tidy state at all times. The Bar wishes to thank BCL for providing this facility for the benefit of all members.
You should have received an email from the Victorian Legal Services Board + Commissioner (VLSB+C) on Monday, 27 March 2023, outlining details of the practising certificate (PC) and professional indemnity insurance (PII) renewal process.
LSB online went live on Monday, 27 March 2023, for the renewal of your PC. Members must renew before Friday, 30 June 2023 to continue to practise on Saturday, 1 July 2023. Members who renew after this date may incur a late renewal surcharge from the LSB+C.
The LPLC portal is expected to open on Wednesday, 5 April 2023 to renew your PII, and further information from the LPLC will be distributed on or closer to that date. The LPLC requires payment of the PII premium by Wednesday, 31 May 2023 and members are encouraged to renew online on the LPLC website.
Information on renewing practising certificates can be found on the VicBar website here.
Links for online lodgement, found on the above webpage, will be available from the VLSB+C and LPLC live dates, or you may go directly to LSB Online and the LPLC website when live.
Login to LSB Online and the LPLC renewal portal using your Practitioner Number as the username (your Practitioner Number will be included in the email sent to you by the VLSB+C). You can contact the Bar office for assistance if required. LSB Online deals with all PC administrative matters, and there is no printed PC renewal form. If you have forgotten your password, you can reset this on the LSB Online login screen by selecting ‘forgot password’. You will receive an email to reset your password.
If you experience technical difficulties with LSB Online, please contact the VLSB+C via their lawyer enquiry form. In addition, answers to frequently asked questions and LSB Online user guides can be found here.
Should you require assistance renewing your PC, the Victorian Bar office can help you, and members who need assistance should email membership@vicbar.com.au or contact Daphne Ioannidis on (03) 9225 8326 or Mark Bryant on (03) 9225 7105.
All members of the Bar and Judiciary are warmly invited to the Dinner on Friday, 26 May 2023, 7:00pm at the Plaza Ballroom. The event is black tie and will feature guest speaker Dr Stephen Donaghue KC, Solicitor-General of Australia.
Tickets for the event are now available. You can book individually, as a guest on an organised table, or as a table organiser.
Event: 2023 Victorian Bar Dinner
Date: Friday, 26 May 2023
Time: 7:00pm for 7:30pm start
Venue: Plaza Ballroom, 191 Collins Street, Melbourne
Dress: Black Tie
Click here to purchase your ticket.
If you did not receive an invitation, please contact events@vicbar.com.au.
Following on from its inaugural success in 2022, there will be another Rainbow and Inclusive Annual Dinner on Thursday, 18 May 2023 at 8:00pm.
The Dinner is an informal and unique opportunity for members of the Victorian Bar who identify as LGBTIQ or supportive allies at the Bar to come together to connect and celebrate as a proud community.
The Dinner will be at The Bowery Room, Builders Arms Hotel, 211 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy. The Dinner will follow on from the launch of the Victorian Chapter of Pride in Law earlier that evening at the Victorian Supreme Court.
Tickets are strictly limited (RSVP by Monday 15 May, or until sold out), and may be purchased through this link. Please contact Chris McDermott (Chris.McDermott@vicbar.com.au) for any further queries.
The Victorian Bar seeks expressions of interest from members of counsel to act as a representative of the Bar on the Victoria Legal Aid Collaborative Planning Committee established in 2019. Generally, members of the Committee are tasked to provide evidence-based advice and recommendations to VLA’s Board in relation to:
- legal and related needs of the community;
- the provision of legal aid; and
- VLA’s functions to co-ordinate and undertake strategic planning for the legal assistance sector in Victoria.
Membership of this Committee includes representatives of VLA, the Law Institute of Victoria, Victorian Bar, Victoria Law Foundation, Department of Justice and Community Safety, the Federation of Community Legal Centres, the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service and Djirra. Members are usually CEOs of the organisations or alternatively a senior member representative.
Appointments are generally for a three-year period and there are four meetings per year.
The Bar’s protocol for nomination and appointment of Vic Bar members to external bodies can be viewed here.
To assist the Bar Council in selecting the best candidate for the position, your expression of interest should identify any relevant areas of experience or expertise. Please submit your expression of interest to Amy Kendall at amy.kendall@vicbar.com.au.
The closing date for expressions of interest is 5:00pm, Friday, 28 April 2023.
The Victorian Bar is offering members the annual flu vaccination in Owen Dixon Chambers East on 30 and 31 May 2023.
Bookings must be made online via the iMedical website. Instructions on how to book are here. You must be logged into the VicBar website to download the instructions.
There are a limited number of appointments available to Bar members from iMedical, and they will be allocated on a first-in, first-served basis.
Why Take Chambers with BCL? As a wholly owned subsidiary of the Victorian Bar, BCL provides a flexible and unique solution of chamber and technology support only available to members of the Bar. Click here to view our current vacancies.
The following are highlights of upcoming CPD and events for Victorian Bar members. You must be a member of the Victorian Bar and logged into the VicBar website to view these events.
- Dealing with clients in suicidal distress is on 26 April 2023 from 5:15pm-6:15pm. In this seminar, the speakers will explain the drivers for suicide and how to identify and respond to suicidal distress. Lisa Hannon KC, Chair of the Victorian Bar's Ethics Committee, will outline a barristers’ ethical duties when they apprehend that a client may be suicidal. This is an online-only event. Click here to RSVP.
- Are the parties bound by an agreement to settle at mediation? is on 27 April 2023 from 5:15pm-6:15pm. In this seminar Grant Lubofsky and Shaun Clement (Counsel for Appellant and Respondent respectively in Sully v Englisch [2022] VSCA 184) reflect on Masters v Cameron agreements in the wake of the recent Court of Appeal’s decision. This is an online-only event. Click here to RSVP.
For more upcoming CPD events, please visit our listings here.
The Victorian Golfing Lawyers Society invites all comers to the Peninsula Kingswood North Course on Monday, 29 May 2023 from 11:30am for the inaugural Presidents Invitational.
VGLS golfers are encouraged to invite a guest who may be a prospective VGLS member or a family member or friend who loves golf. If you are not yet a VGLS member but are a keen golfer, we welcome you.
The President’s Invitational Cup will be presented to the winning pair!
Format:
- Two tee start from 12:20pm.
- 4BBB Stableford, incl. prizes for NTP and men’s and women’s LD.
- Use of practice driving range, short course area and practice putting greens, pull buggies.
- Carts – player to organise own directly with pro shop, $75 per cart.
- Light lunch of sandwiches, wraps, fruit and coffee prior to play commencing.
- On course cart with food and drinks (at own expense)
- Two course dinner to follow play (drinks at own expense)
- Address: 211-219 Skye Road, Frankston.
Cost: $320 per head for non-PK members, $120 for PK members and reciprocals.
RSVP Thursday, 25 May 2023.
The PK North Course is currently rated 5th best in Australia and provides a terrific challenge to golfers of all abilities. A flyover of all 18 holes can be viewed on this link.
BOOK NOW using this link.
Please join Saints in Law for breakfast on Wednesday, 3 May 2023, 7:30am at the Essoign Club.
Level 1, Owen Dixon Chambers East, 205 Lonsdale St, Melbourne.
St Kilda Football Club CEO Simon Lethlean will be there with one of the members of the coaching panel to update us on the season ahead, as we celebrate the Club’s 150th year.
Fortius quo fidelius
Michael Borsky KC
Lisa Hannon KC
James Plunkett
& Jack Rush KC
Cost: $35 per head
RSVP: 26 April 2023 to James Plunkett
(Cheques payable to James Plunkett, Lennon’s List, DX99, or to BSB 063 097 Account 1546 6715, Reference – Name and Saints)
Dear Essoign Club Members,
We are open daily from 7:30am – till late
Breakfast – for dine-in or takeaway.
Lunch – Daily Café Menu take away or delivery.
Lunch Dine-In – A La Carte from midday.
Bar – EVERY EVENING – $5 Beer & Wine from 4:30pm – 5:30pm with light snacks available.
Catering & Events – For all occasions including:
Breakfasts
Cocktail Parties
Dinners
Platters for:
Lunches
Morning & Afternoon tea
Or something special you may have in mind.
See Catering and Events Pack here.
Email us at essoign@vicbar.com.au
Victorian Bar members are encouraged to use the Member Benefits online portal, where you can access a wide variety of discounts, special offers, and member-only deals as part of your Bar membership.
The exclusive benefits are available Australia-wide and are not generally open to the public.
To activate your account and access the benefits, please click here. You must log in using your vicbar.com.au login details.
Click here to access the monthly Best Buys!
Click here to view special dining offers.
Click here for a special offer from JB Hi-Fi Commercial.
Click here for a special offer from HotelPlanner.
The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia have provided a Lighthouse expansion update to the profession for April 2023, which can be viewed on their website here.
Please note that Court Services Victoria (CSV) has released findings of a survey conducted in response to recommendation 18 of the review of sexual harassment across the Victorian courts and Victorian Civil Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).
The recommendation required CSV to conduct an annual anonymous survey of all court and VCAT user groups to track progress on incidents of sexual harassment, reporting of incidents and action by bystanders.
A message regarding the findings from the Chief Justice and Chair of Courts Council, Justice Anne Ferguson, on behalf of the Victorian courts and VCAT is also available at the link above.
The Victorian Bar Library Committee has recently purchased many useful new books in a variety of areas. Come in and have a look! Owen Dixon Chambers East.
A list of some of the new arrivals are listed below. The Richard Griffith Library is a reference library and that books may not be removed from the library save for those that have been clearly marked as available for loan.
Australian master superannuation guide 2022-23
Case management and complex civil litigation
Cheshire and Fifoot law of contract
Commercial arbitration in Australia under the model law
Hanks Australian Constitutional law : materials and commentary
Jesting pilate and other papers and addresses
Keay's insolvency : personal and corporate law and practice
New South Wales civil procedure handbook 2022
Residential tenancies law and practice : New South Wales
Royal commissions and public inquiries in Australia
On 20 April 2023, the Bar was notified that Mr Howard Rapke had been appointed by the Victorian Legal Services Board (Board) as the Manager of the Law Practice under Chapter 6 of the Legal Profession Uniform Law (Victoria) (Uniform Law).
Please be advised that the appointment terminated on 19 February 2023, pursuant to section 340(1)(a) of the Uniform Law.
Using the Law to Change Society: Sport, Human Rights and National Identity.
The advent of international human rights law in sport has challenged the prevailing paradigms, forced sport to reckon with its supposed 'apolitical nature' and raised the issue of harms previously ignored. Human rights law has allowed athletes an increasing platform to engage on issues of social justice and forced the withdrawal of commercial partners and sponsors from a range of sporting codes.
It underpins sport's duty to uphold the rights of Indigenous Peoples, including that of First Nations self determination in Australia and has implications on Australia's future as a republic. Using the rights of affected groups, Craig will discuss the path Australia is walking towards a truly inclusive identity.
This event is open to all members of the legal profession and to all of Deakin's wider community in support of the Victoria Law Foundation's Law Week 2023.
Click here to register.
We are proud to announce that Bond University will present a microcredential on Medical Negligence commencing 15 May 2023, in partnership with the Australasian College of Legal Medicine.
Enrolment is now open! Click here for more information and to enrol.
A flyer is also available here.
Time/Mode:
The course is delivered over 14 weeks via a series of self-paced online modules and a two-day, online workshop.
Commences: 15 May 2023
Who can attend?
The course is available to any person holding a Bachelor's degree or higher, who's qualification requires registration with Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (or equivalent if overseas) and/or as a legal practitioner.
The Hon Chris Maxwell AC will deliver the Society’s inaugural Paul Mullaly History and Law Lecture during Law Week 2023.
This lecture will explore the value of legal history, both as a window into social and political history and as an aid to understanding the present state of the law. By way of illustration, the lecture will highlight key aspects of criminal justice in colonial Victoria: jury trials; the role of the trial judge; and early ideas about proof and punishment; drawing on Paul Mullaly’s foundational work Crime in the Port Phillip District 1835-51.
This event will both be in person at the RHSV Gallery Downstairs, and on Zoom.
Tuesday, 16 May, 5:30pm for 6:00pm
Bookings: Link
Royal Historical Society of Victoria,
239 A'Beckett St
Melbourne
(03) 9326 9288, office@historyvictoria.org.au
Sisters in Crime’s 17th Law Week event: Boys behaving badly (and what to do about it). An expert panel, Elena Campbell, Ahona Guha, and Sherele Moody, chaired by Bronwyn Naylor will debate how to combat toxic masculinity and the violence perpetrated against women. Sir Zelman Cowen Centre, Victoria University, Queen Street Campus, Lecture Theatre G02, 295 Queen Street, Melbourne. Please book here by Friday, 19 May, 2:00pm.
More info here.
Please click here to view the flyer for the CIArb Introduction to International Arbitration Course on Saturday, 20 May 2023.
Guest speaker is the Honourable James Allsop AC.
Registration is now open for the International Bar Association Annual Conference 2023. Taking place at the Palais des Congrès de Paris from 29 October - 3 November 2023, this conference offers the opportunity to experience over 200 sessions on a wide range of legal topics, along with an abundance of business and networking opportunities on offer attended by some of the world’s leading lawyers.
More information about the conference programme is available on the following social media feeds:
An expression of interest process has been announced for the appointment of an external legal adviser to the Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Delegated Legislation.
Expressions of interest for the position, under a contract to commence in July 2023, are invited from suitably qualified persons. The closing date for expressions of interest is close of business on Friday, 28 April 2023.
Potential applicants are encouraged to click here for further information.
Volleyball Australia is looking to bolster its Internal Sports Tribunal with more legal practitioners. Can you help?
Volleyball Australia is the National Sporting Organisation (NSO) for indoor and beach volleyball in Australia. VA’s Internal Sports Tribunal hears matters which are not eligible to be heard by the National Sports Tribunal – this includes matters such as on-court incidents or matters which occur at a level below National. These ad-hoc hearings will be convened as needed, generally conducted virtually, outside business hours. Each Tribunal will comprise of a mix of legal practitioners and sports administrators.
We’re seeking interest from ANZSLA Members who hold a current practising certificate as a lawyer or barrister in any Australian jurisdiction to be part of VA’s Internal Sports Tribunal.
To express your interest, please contact Kate Walker (VA National Integrity Manager) at integrity@volleyball.org.au or 0435 067 668.
If you would like to contribute relevant news, events, and updates for barristers and the legal profession to In Brief, please send an email with your content to inbrief@vicbar.com.au or complete this submission form.
Deadline for the next issue:5pm, 27th April 2023