Random Banner 2
In Brief Issue #1152
7Jun
On Tuesday evening, Bar Council approved a new Strategic Plan 2024-2028, to guide the work of Bar Council for the next four years.
In determining to adopt the Strategic Plan Bar Council was assisted by the Report of the Strategic Plan Working Group chaired by Philip Crutchfield KC. The Working Group consulted widely with members, Committees and Associations, clerks, the judiciary, the regulator, solicitors, including the VGSO, and other interested stakeholders to better understand what our immediate and long-term objectives should be. The result of those consultations and the deliberations of the Working Group are set out in the Report. I encourage all members to read the Report here and the Strategic Plan here, (you must be logged in to view these documents).
Strategic Plans are interesting documents and, as the Working Group found, most serious organisations have them. In addition to guiding internal decision-making, they help to define the identity of an organisation. Members will not be surprised to find that collegiality and independence are at the heart of our Strategic Plan. They are the foundation on which our Bar is built and the key to our future strength. The Bar is, of course, made up of people with diverse backgrounds, opinions, and experiences, and the Strategic Plan has as one of its objectives that the diversity of the Bar will reflect the community that it serves. But while we are increasingly diverse, it is our shared professional standards and dedication to professional excellence that will always bind us as a college.
I thank the members of the Working Group for their excellent work: Philip Crutchfield KC, Rachel Doyle SC, Stuart Wood AM KC, David Hallowes SC, Sam Hay KC, Elizabeth Bennett SC, Georgina Coleman, Katherine Brazenor, Nawaar Hassan, Ffyona Livingstone Clark, and Amanda Utt and Sharni Doherty and Ruth Mizrahi, who provided the necessary administrative support. I also thank Philip for attending Bar Council as a guest on Tuesday evening to speak to Recommendation 6, the only recommendation about which there were any dissenting views.
This morning Colin Mandy SC attended the welcome ceremonies of his Honour Magistrate Tim Schocker and their Honour Magistrate Jillian Prior. On behalf of the Bar, I wish them both long and distinguished careers on the bench.
This year, the Commercial Bar Association is 30 years old, and to celebrate, it will host a dinner at the Essoign Club on Wednesday, 9 October 2024. The Honourable Chief Justice Ferguson will be the guest speaker. Tickets will not be available until August, but you may wish to save the date.
Next week is Men’s Health Week. I remind all members that the Bar offers health and wellbeing services, including counselling, through our portal here. Members can also access financial support services through the Barristers Benevolent Fund.
Georgina Schoff KC
Members must renew their PC before 30 June to continue to practise on 1 July. Members who renew after this date may incur a late renewal surcharge from the LSB+C.
The deadline for renewing your PII premium was 31 May 2024, and if you have not already done so, please renew online here. You must renew your insurance to first to complete the PC renewal.
Information on renewing practising certificates can be found on the VicBar website here.
Links for online lodgement, which can be found on the above webpage, will be available from the LSB+C and LPLC live dates, or you may go directly to LSB Online and the LPLC website.
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, or you can contact the Bar office for assistance). LSB Online deals with all PC administrative matters, and there is no printed PC renewal form.
Once you have completed the renewal process, you will receive an email from the LSB to confirm that your PC has been issued. You will then be able to download it via LSB Online.
If you experience technical difficulties with LSB online, please contact the VLSB+C via their lawyer enquiry form in the first instance. 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 7111.
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 and allocated on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Click here for more information.
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.
The Victorian Bar CPD Committee is instituting a new CPD Masterclass series to meet the continuing professional development needs of those with greater levels of experience and expertise in the subject matter. While that is the focus, all members are warmly invited to attend. It is also an opportunity for the Bar to encourage the transfer of knowledge from the bench to the bar and also from our more senior or retired members.
The first Masterclass will be on 21 June 2024 at 8:30am (with an aim to finish by 10:00am). The Honourable Justice McLeish (Court of Appeal) will formally launch the series, and the Honourable Justice Niall (Court of Appeal), Frances Gordon KC, and Nick Wood KC will present Anatomy of Judicial Review.
Showcasing the expertise of the Bar in this area, the CPD will explore critical and complex issues in judicial review proceedings and is aimed at practitioners with experience in the area. This is an in-person event and will also be available online via livestream. Click here to RSVP.
- Open to expressions of interest: Levels 11, 13, or 15 Castan Chambers: With regular interest from Registered or new Groups seeking full floors, a rare opportunity has now presented itself at Castan Chambers. We are seeking expressions of interest from all members of the Bar for potential occupancy of levels 11, 13, or 15 at 460 Lonsdale Street Melbourne. To view all floor information and register your interest, click here.
- Prepayment of chamber fees (rent) for the 2025 financial year: With the 2024 financial year coming to a close, this is a reminder to contact the finance team if you are considering prepaying part or all of next financial year's chamber fees (rent) plus any other BCL invoiced charges. To organise an invoice, please email BCLFinance@vicbar.com.au providing the first and last month of your required prepayment period.,
- The BCL Service Desk will be closed for the King’s Birthday public holiday on Monday, 10 June 2024. Click here for further information.
- 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.
- 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.
- Anatomy of Judicial Review is on Friday, 21 June 2024 from 8:30am to 10:00am. The Victorian Bar CPD Committee is instituting a new CPD Masterclass series to meet the continuing professional development needs of those with greater levels of experience and expertise in the subject matter. The first Masterclass will be on 21 June 2024 at 8.30am (with an aim to finish by 10am) and will explore critical and complex issues in judicial review proceedings and is aimed at practitioners with experience in the area. The Honourable Justice McLeish (Court of Appeal) will formally launch the series and the Honourable Justice Niall (Court of Appeal), Frances Gordon KC and Nick Wood KC will present Anatomy of Judicial Review. This is an in-person event and will also be available online via livestream. Click here to RSVP.
- Cybersecurity for Barristers (Vol 1): Rules and expectations is on Monday, 24 June 2024 from 5:00pm to 6:00pm. The Victorian Legal Services Board & Commissioner introduced ‘Minimum Cybersecurity Expectations’ that apply to all lawyers, including barristers, in February 2024. The Innovation and Technology Committee invites members of the Bar to find out more directly from the VLSB's Policy and Regulatory Strategy team and, with members of the Ethics Committee, review how the existing ethical rules apply to barrister's cybersecurity. This is an online only event via Zoom. 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!
Six new titles are now available online and 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 Annual Castan Centre for Human Rights Law Conference is the leading human rights conference in Australia, providing a vital health check on the state of human rights in Australia and overseas. The 23rd Annual Conference features leading researchers, practitioners, and advocates with sessions focussing on First Nations rights, the rights of children in care; truth, free speech, and the online environment; and exploitation and modern slavery.
Confirmed speakers include:
- Mr Rueben Berg, Co-Chair, First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria
- Commissioner Liana Buchannan, Principal Commissioner, Victorian Commission for Children and Young People
- Dr Andre Oboler, Online Hate Prevention Institute
- Professor Justine Nolan, Director, UNSW Australian Human Rights Institute.
Date: Friday, 19 July 2024
Time: 9:00am-4:30pm
Location: Site Library of Victoria
For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.
Conference attendance may be credited towards CPD requirements.
On behalf of the Australasian Institute of Judicial Administration, I am pleased to present the programme for the upcoming conference in Sydney, Enhancing Safe Practice: A National Judicial Conference on Sexual Assault.
Date: 2-4 August 2024
Venue: Banco Court, Supreme Court of New South Wales, Queens Square, 184 Phillip St, Sydney NSW
Registration here.
Early bird registration now extended to 17 June!
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 firefighting 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.
Several Victorian Bar Committees and the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) are in discussions to establish a scheme where barristers can assist NAAJA with its workload in Alice Springs or Katherine for 2-week rotations. Meanwhile, NAAJA urgently needs criminal barristers for various roles:
- Representing clients in Alice Springs for 2-6 months in the second half of 2024, with flights, accommodation, and a daily rate provided.
- Shorter stints in Alice Springs (several weeks), with similar support.
- Accepting briefs in indictable matters, some in late 2024, although mostly in 2025.
- Providing guidance and mentorship to NAAJA solicitors on an ad hoc basis. This would involve being willing to speak each week about upcoming files, as well as providing advice and support as needed.
The items above are required urgently. Any barrister interested should contact Andrew Woods at andrew.woods@vicbar.com.au, or Jared Sharp at jared.sharp@naaja.org.au for urgent roles.
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, 13th June 2024