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In Brief Issue #1153
14Jun
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.
On Wednesday evening, Jessie Taylor represented the Bar at the opening of the new Melbourne office of the Australian Law Reform Commission at 300 Flinders Street. The President of the ALRC, the Honourable Justice Bromberg, spoke about the history of the site—where the 'Yarra Yarra Falls' once stood—as a place of great significance to the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung and Bunurong people of the Kulin Nation, as a gathering place, a site for lawmaking, and for law reform. The Attorney General, the Hon. Mark Dreyfus KC MP, also spoke, expressing his delight that there is now an office of the ALRC in his home city of Melbourne.
Last night, I attended a meeting of the directors of the Peter O’Callaghan QC Gallery. One item on the agenda was the Changing Faces of the Bar II project which will soon be on display in the entrance to Owen Dixon Chambers. The directors are pleased to announce that this permanent exhibit will be formally unveiled by the Honourable Chief Justice Mortimer of the Federal Court on 29 October 2024. I will publish details closer to the date.
This morning, Colin Mandy SC and I attended a ceremony to welcome her Honour Magistrate Siobhan Whittle. We extend our best wishes to her Honour for a successful career on the bench.
Shadowing Program
The Student Engagement Committee’s next shadowing program for University students commences on 1 July. There has been an overwhelming response from students keen to participate. The committee urgently seeks 15 more barristers to mentor the students. If you can assist, please complete the EOI form here.
CPD Masterclass series
I am very excited to announce the launch next week of the Victorian Bar CPD Committee’s new CPD Masterclass series. The Masterclasses are designed to engage those with advanced experience and expertise and to transfer knowledge from the Bench and senior or retired practitioners to the Bar. All members are welcome to attend.
The first Masterclass will be held on 21 June 2024, from 8:30am to 10:00am in the McPhee Room. The Honourable Justice McLeish will launch the series, and the Honourable Justice Niall, Frances Gordon KC, and Nick Wood SC will present "Anatomy of Judicial Review." This session will cover complex issues in judicial review proceedings. It will be held in person and be available online via live stream. Click here to RSVP.
Georgina Schoff KC
Order of Australia
The Bar congratulates the following members of our Bar who received awards in the Order of Australia:
OFFICER IN THE GENERAL DIVISION (AO)
The Honourable Kevin Harcourt Bell AO KC
MEMBER IN THE GENERAL DIVISION (AM)
His Honour Judge Michael Patrick Bourke AM
We also congratulate all members of the legal profession who have received awards.
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 Student Engagement Committee is looking for barristers interested in mentoring university students in July’s Student Shadowing Program.
Students typically shadow barristers in court, during client conferences, and the like. They often undertake research tasks, further engaging them in the day-to-day experience of barristers.
If you are interested in participating in this program, please urgently submit an EOI via the form here.
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, it closes soon on Friday, 14 June 2024.
Expressions of Interest are sought from interested members for nomination to the Law Council of Australia (LCA)’s Futures Committee.
The Committee was re-established by the LCA Executive in 2020 to advise the LCA on the challenges and opportunities presented by social, technological, and regulatory changes that impact the Australian Legal Profession.
Further information and the Committee’s Terms of Reference are available here.
The Bar’s protocol for nominating and appointing Vic Bar members to external bodies can be viewed here.
Please forward your expression of interest to sharni.doherty@vicbar.com.au. The closing date is COB, Friday, 21 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 SC 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.
- Class action carriage contests: Determinative factors and practical problems is on Wednesday, 19 June 2024, from 5:15pm to 6:15pm. In recent years, courts have been dealing with what has been described as a "plague" of competing class actions. This seminar will examine trends in how courts have resolved carriage contests post Wigmans v AMP Ltd (2021) 270 CLR 623, as well as practice and procedure issues that arise in these contests. 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 SC 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
- The Workcover Scheme Modernisation Act – Get the Inside Info is on Monday, 24 June 2024, from 5:15pm to 6:15pm. The Compensation Law Bar Association is honoured to host Tom Lynch (Director, Dispute Management Division) and Jason Lardelli (Executive Director, Return to Work Victoria) from Worksafe to present on the changes to the Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2013, in conjunction with barrister Luke Perilli, who will provide insight into what the changes mean for practice in the State workers' compensation arena. 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.
Why is Justice blind? Is she impartial? Or is she blinkered?
This year, BottledSnail Productions stages Nina Raine's powerful and poignant play "Consent". When two barrister friends take opposing briefs in a sexual assault case, Justice herself is in the dock.
Auditions are being held on Saturday, 29, and Sunday, 30 June 2024, and barristers are encouraged to apply. Auditions and rehearsals will be held in Owen Dixon Chambers East.
For more information about the production or to view the audition pack, click here.
To register for an audition, contact Laura Bentley at laura.bentley@bottledsnail.com.
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.
Better for the environment, better for business: how will the EPBC Act reforms meet the brief?
Join NELA to discuss the Stage 2 EPBC Act reforms: the National EPA and EIA and their potential impacts on business and the environment, the bills which have now been introduced to Parliament, and what to expect from Stage 3 reforms.
Thursday, 20 June 2024
Online: 5:30pm – 6:30pm
In person (Brisbane): 5:00pm – 7:00pm AEST
Tickets: $15 - $40 available here
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!
LAWASIA and The Malaysian Bar are delighted to announce that Early Bird registrations are open for the 37th LAWASIA Conference, which will take place in the vibrant and culturally rich city of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from 13 to 15 October 2024. This year's theme is "Navigating the Legal Landscape in the Digital Age”, and we can't wait to explore these cutting-edge topics with you.
The 37th LAWASIA Conference promises to be an unforgettable event, bringing together bar leaders, jurists, professional organisations, and individual lawyers from across the Asia Pacific. The three days will include an array of high-profile international speakers exploring a diverse range of political, social, cultural, and economic contexts across the Asia Pacific. Attendees will benefit from insightful presentations by the region's leading legal experts, along with numerous opportunities to network during various social events.
Click here for more information and to register.
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.
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, 20th June 2024