Random Banner 2
In Brief Issue #1151
31May
On Monday, Sam Hay KC and I met with the Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes and members of her staff. The meeting was arranged as part of the Strategic Plan Working Group’s consultation process and was an excellent opportunity for us to discuss the role of the Independent Bar and how it can work most effectively with Government to further the administration of justice.
On Monday afternoon, a farewell was held for his Honour Magistrate John Hardy, who retires after almost 25 years on the bench (and 20 years as a member of our Bar before joining the bench). His Honour is highly regarded for his commitment to just outcomes in the Koori Court and his progressive approach to therapeutic justice in the Assessment and Referral Court. I thank Chris Blanden KC, who appeared on behalf of the Bar, and Sarah Keating, who attended on behalf of Bar Council.
On Tuesday evening, the Peter O’Callaghan QC Gallery Foundation and the Art & Collections Committee held an unveiling of the portrait of the Honourable Linda Dessau AC CVO, which now hangs in the foyer of Owen Dixon Chambers West. The portrait, by Archibald Prize winner Yvette Coppersmith, captures one of the finest members of our Bar in all her glory as Governor of Victoria. I thank all those who participated, especially the Honourable Chief Justice Will Alstergren AO of the Federal Circuit and Family Court, who spoke eloquently of the sitter’s very many achievements, Philip Solomon KC, the Chair of the Foundation who hosted the event, and of course, the sitter herself, who is now, quite literally, an ornament to our Bar.
Last evening, I attended an informative panel discussion about cultural diversity in our profession hosted by the Equality & Diversity Committee and moderated by Zubin Menon and Sheeana Dhanji. The panellists, the Honourable Justice Strum, her Honour Judge Burchell, Minal Vohra SC, and John Heard spoke about their own diverse backgrounds and identities and discussed how to achieve a more culturally diverse profession. I thank all the speakers for being so open about their experiences in the profession and congratulate the organisers.
This morning, Colin Mandy SC attended a welcome ceremony for their Honours Magistrate Michael Gurvich and Magistrate Andrew Waters. The welcome was well attended, and we wish both judges the best for their careers on the bench.
Reconciliation week
On Tuesday, as part of the Bar’s commitment to Reconciliation Week, the Indigenous Justice Committee (IJC) hosted a seminar about the legal framework for Treaty-making and the functions of the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria and the Treaty Authority. The session will be available for viewing on our website in due course. I thank the IJC for its work in driving our Reconciliation Action Plan.
Trans-Tasman Bar Conference 2024
Registration is now open for the upcoming Trans-Tasman conference hosted by the Australian Bar Association and the New Zealand Bar Association in Tāhuna Queenstown on August 16 and 17. The program features a number of members of our Bar, including a keynote address by Matt Collins AM KC and panels featuring Róisín Annesley KC, Ruth Shann SC, and Emrys Nekvapil SC. Registration is available here.
CommBar 2024 International Commercial Law Conference
So far, over 100 barristers and judges from Melbourne and London have registered to attend the CommBar International Commercial Law Conference to be held at the Inner Temple in London on 3 and 4 July 2024. Many will also attend the pre-conference seminar at Magdalen College, Oxford, on 1 July 2024. The speakers include many leading barristers from the Melbourne and London Bars, as well as the following judges:
- The Rt Hon. Lord Hodge PC, Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
- The Hon. Justice Steward, High Court of Australia
- The Hon. Chief Justice Alstergren AO, Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia
- The Hon. Mr Justice Foxton, Judge-in-Charge, Commercial Court, London
- The Hon. Justice McEvoy, Federal Court of Australia
- The Hon. Justice Thawley, Federal Court of Australia
- The Hon. Justice Matthews, Supreme Court of Victoria
- The Hon. Justice Osborne, Supreme Court of Victoria
- Her Honour Judge Burchell, Judge-in-Charge of the Commercial List, County Court of Victoria
Tickets are still available, but registration will close on Friday, 14 June 2024. Click here to register.
Welcome ceremonies next week:
His Honour Magistrate Tim Schocker and her Honour Magistrate Louise Wildberger.
To be held in Courtroom 1, Melbourne Magistrates’ Court, 233 William Street Melbourne on Friday, 7 June 2024 at 9:00am. Click here to view the ceremony online.
Georgina Schoff KC
The LPLC portal went live in early April 2024 for LPLC Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII) renewal. PII premiums are required to be paid by TODAY, Friday, 31 May 2024. Members are now encouraged to renew online on the LPLC website and the LSB Online Portal to complete your PC renewal. Please note: You must complete both your PII insurance and your LSB Online application for your PC to renew and issue.
Information on renewing practising certificates can be found on the VicBar website here.
Links for online lodgement are available at LSB Online and for the LPLC.
Please log in 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). 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. Frequently asked questions and LSB Online user guides can also 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.
Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2)
The Attorney-General of Australia has announced that Simone Bingham has been appointed as a judge of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, effective 3 June 2024.
Details of the welcome ceremony will be advised when they are known.
The ADR Committee seeks expressions of interest from members of the Bar who wish to participate as mentors and mentees in the inaugural Mediation Mentoring Program, to commence in July 2024.
To be eligible as a mentee, a person must:
- be a member of the Bar; and
- have obtained their accreditation as a mediator within the last [five] years. Any accreditation from a recognised provider will suffice.
To be eligible as a mentor, a person must:
- be a member of the Bar;
- have been an accredited mediator for at least the last five years
Applications for both mentees and mentors will be open from 1 June 2024 to 22 June 2024 at 5:00pm.
All applicants should email Tasman Ash Fleming at fleming@vicbar.com.au, providing the following information:
- Name of the applicant and whether the person wishes to be a mentee or mentor.
- When the applicant obtained accreditation and from which institution.
- Area of mediation that the applicant practises or is interested in (e.g., Family Law, Building and Construction Law, Employment Law, General Commercial). If the person has no preference, please state ‘no preference’.
- Area of mediation that the applicant wishes the mentee/mentor to be preferably from. If the person has no preference, please state ‘no preference’.
Places will be subject to availability, allocated on a first come first served basis.
Click here for more information.
National Reconciliation Week (NRW) in Australia is a significant time for all Australians to come together and engage in meaningful conversations, activities, and events that promote reconciliation between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous Australians. NRW is observed annually from 27 May to 3 June, marking two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey: (a) the anniversary of the 1967 referendum; and (b) the High Court Mabo decision.
This year’s theme is “Now More Than Ever”. This is a reminder to all of us that now, more than ever, the work continues. In treaty making, in truth-telling, in understanding our history, in education and in tackling racism.
The National Reconciliation Week 2024 design and artwork represent the momentum of the theme. The vibrant artwork of Gubbi Gubbi artist Maggie Douglas and the chevron encourage connecting with one another, understanding, and continuing to move forward.
National Reconciliation Week 2024 presents an opportunity for Australians to come together, listen, learn, and take meaningful steps toward building a reconciled, just, and equitable nation. To get involved, visit Reconciliation Australia’s website for more information and discover what activities and events are taking place in your local area next week!
The Indigenous Justice Committee also organised an insightful and dynamic discussion about the historic and significant legal framework for Treaty-making on 28 May 2024. This is an in-person event at Koiki Mabo Chambers, 66-68 Dudley Street, West Melbourne, Victoria 3003. The session will explore the guiding statutory principles for the Treaty process and the functions of the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria and the Treaty Authority. To register, please click here.
Join us in bridging our narratives and shaping a future where reconciliation is at the heart of our collective identity. Now more than ever, we need reconciliation. #NRW2024
The CommBar 2024 International Commercial Law Conference will be held at the Inner Temple in London on Wednesday, 3, and Thursday, 4 July, 2024. A pre-conference seminar will be held at Magdalen College, Oxford, on 1 July 2024.
Over 100 barristers and judges from Melbourne and London will be attending the CommBar 2024 ICLC.
Amongst the speakers comprised of leading silks and barristers from the Melbourne and London Bars (many of whom are CommBar and Combar members) are the following judicial speakers:
- The Rt Hon. Lord Hodge PC, Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
- The Hon. Justice Steward, High Court of Australia
- The Hon. Chief Justice Alstergren AO, Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia
- The Hon. Mr Justice Foxton, Judge-in-Charge, Commercial Court, London
- The Hon. Justice McEvoy, Federal Court of Australia
- The Hon. Justice Thawley, Federal Court of Australia
- The Hon. Justice Matthews, Supreme Court of Victoria
- The Hon. Justice Osborne, Supreme Court of Victoria
- Her Honour Judge Burchell, Judge-in-Charge of the Commercial List, County Court of Victoria
The full annual quota of 10 CPD points can be earned at the conference, over the 10 London conference sessions.
The CommBar 2024 ICLC also offers an exciting social program:
- A Dinner at Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, on 1 July;
- A Gala Dinner (Black Tie) at the Middle Temple Hall, on 3 July; and
- An end-of-conference drinks reception in the Temple Church Courtyard, on 4 July.
Full details of the conference (including the conference program and speaker profiles) are available on the CommBar 2024 ICLC website at: www.commbar2024iclc.com.
Registration is still open, however closes soon on Friday, 14 June 2024.
- 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.
- “Did my client really say that?” How to determine the reliability of a transcript of a covert recording is on Monday, 3 June 2024, from 5:15pm to 6:15pm. Covert recordings are routinely admitted in criminal trials. When the audio is indistinct, a transcript, often prepared with investigators, can be provided to assist the court in understanding the content. It is now well established that an inaccurate transcript can ‘assist’ listeners to hear words that were never spoken. This presentation considers these issues from the perspective of linguistic science, making recommendations that may be useful both in individual cases and on a broader scale. This is an in-person event and will also be available online via livestream. Click here to RSVP
- Update on the AMDRAS Transitional provisions is on Tuesday, 4 June 2024, from 5:00pm to 6:00pm. This seminar will discuss about AMDRAS which is a new stage in accreditation of dispute resolution and is in response to the evolution of professionalism within dispute resolution practice and has been developed over widespread industry consultation following the extensive NMAS review . This is an in-person event and will also be available online via livestream. Click here to RSVP
- Tax Bar Association Series - Mylan and Minerva is on Thursday, 6 June 2024, from 5:30pm to 6:30pm. The Tax Bar Association invites you to a CPD session on the recent decisions in Minerva Financial Group Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Taxation [2024] FCAFC 28 and Mylan Australia Holding Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Taxation (No 2) [2024] FCA 253, two of the latest high profile Part IVA cases, presented by Helen Symon KC, Frank O'Loughlin KC, and Edward Moore. This is an in-person event and will also be available online via livestream. Click here to RSVP
- Habeas Corpus and Immigration Detainees is on Wednesday, 12 June 2024, from 5:15pm to 6:15pm. Two recent judgments have opened the way to habeas corpus being granted for those in immigration detention. This seminar will explore those cases: NZYQ concerning those who cannot be removed from Australia and McHugh concerning Australian Aboriginal people. It will explore the strategy and considerations legally relevant to pursuing a claim for habeas corpus. This is an in-person event and will also be available online via livestream. Click here to RSVP
For more upcoming CPD events, please visit our listings here.
Gideon Obarzanek, the co-director of Rising, Melbourne’s eclectic winter arts festival, has put together a Gig Guide for time-poor barristers who would like to attend the festival between 1-16 June.
Click here to view the guide for more information.
Dear Members,
We are open daily from 7:30am – till late.
Breakfast - for dine-in or takeaway
Lunch – Daily Café Menu dine-in or takeaway
Lunch Dine-In - A La Carte from midday
Bar – EVERY EVENING - $5 Beer & Wine from 4:30pm – 5:30pm
Essoign Coffee Cart - Daily from 7:30am
Ground Floor Owen Dixon West
Catering & Events - Special lunches, working lunches, private dinners, or something special you may have in mind. Email us at essoign@vicbar.com.au
See our Catering and Events Package here.
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 for the monthly Best Buys!
Please find a link to a publication updating the case management and listing practices in the Institutional Liability List.
Please find a link to a publication updating the case management and listing practices in the Dust Diseases List.
Six new titles are now available online onsite at the Richard Griffith Library, Level One, Owen Dixon Chambers East.
- Meagher, Gummow & Lehane’s Equity Doctrines & Remedies 5ed (2014)
- Jacobs' Law of Trusts in Australia 8ed (2016 )
- Commercial Tenancy Law 5ed (2023)
- Expert Evidence 7ed (2023)
- Lawyers Professional Responsibility 7ed (2020)
- Uniform Evidence Law 18ed (2023)
Some of these were previously only held in print. These are available 24/7 to you. Contact the Law Library on 8600 2009 or llv@courts.vic.gov.au with any queries about access or resources.
The Australian Bar Association and the New Zealand Bar Association | Ngā Ahorangi Motuhake o te Ture are delighted jointly to host the second Trans-Tasman conference in Tāhuna Queenstown.
Starts: 9:00am, Friday, 16 August 2024
Ends: 11:45pm, Saturday, 17 August 2024
Location:
Rydges Lakeland Resort - Queenstown
38-54 Lake Esplanade
Queens, OTAGO 9300
New Zealand
Click here for more information and to register.
The Federal Dispute Resolution Section of the Law Council is partnering with the LIV to host an ART seminar at the LIV offices on 1 July.
We are looking forward to presenting this timely seminar to the legal profession in Victoria.
Click here for more information and to register.
The Melbourne Catholic Lawyers' Association (MCLA) is sounding the alarm on the continuing threat to religious liberty in Australia. The rise of uncompromising secularism aims to exclude faith from the public domain.
The MCLA warmly invites members of the Bar to its Annual Dinner on Wednesday, 14 August 2024.
Helen Alvaré, recognised as one of the foremost Catholic scholars and public intellectuals in the US today, and the current Robert A Levy Endowed Chair in Law and Liberty at the Scalia Law School at George Mason University will be speaking on 'The Challenge of Religious Freedom'.
All are welcome to join us for this dinner. For more information and to book, click here.
Country Fire Authority - Deputy Chairperson
The Minister for Emergency Services is pleased to invite applications for the position of Deputy Chairperson on the Country Fire Authority (CFA) Board.
The Country Fire Authority Act 1958 establishes the Country Fire Authority Board. The CFA is a fully volunteer fire fighting service with over 54,000 volunteers. These volunteers include firefighters, community educators and support personnel spread across 1,212 brigades, 21 districts and five regions in Victoria.
The CFA Board is responsible for setting strategic direction and ensuring appropriate governance arrangements are effectively and efficiently implemented.
The role of the Deputy Chairperson includes performing the role and function of the Chairperson in their absence. The Deputy Chairperson holds office for a period specified, which cannot exceed three years.
To be eligible as a Board Member of the CFA, a person may possess knowledge of, or experience in the legal field; including an ability to identify key legal risks and to provide governance in relation to the resolution of legal risks.
Please refer to the position description for further information.
Applications close Sunday, 9 June 2024.
Click here for more information and to apply.
Member – Professional Standards Council
The Attorney-General wishes to appoint a member to the Professional Standards Council of Victoria.
The Professional Standards Councils are independent statutory bodies with powers to assess and approve applications from occupational associations for professional standards schemes that limit the civil liability of members.
Expressions of interest are sought from suitable candidates with:
- Experience at a senior level in a profession or professional association, occupational regulation, professional standards, or consumer protection.
- A background in one or more of the following areas:
- accounting,
- financial services
- actuarial science,
- complaints and disciplinary systems,
- continuous improvement strategies,
- legal services,
- professional ethics,
- professional indemnity insurance,
- professional negligence litigation,
- risk management/compliance systems,
- senior government policy or regulatory experience.
Applications close Sunday, 17 June 2024.
Click here for more information and to apply.
NAAJA are currently advertising the below positions:
- Managing Criminal Lawyer - Darwin office
- Managing Criminal Lawyer (Centralia Australia) - Alice Springs
Click the links above for more information on the role and to apply.
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, 6th June 2024