Welcome to Katherine Lorenz, who started her new role as CEO of the Victorian Bar this week. Katherine comes to us with more than 16 years’ experience as a litigator at top tier law firms and in several high profile in-house roles, most recently as the Executive Director, Corporate Services and Governance and Chief Legal Officer with Monash Health. Please introduce yourself and make her feel welcome when you see her around the traps.
Last Friday the Australian Financial Review published a series of articles criticising the productivity of Federal Court judges based on a crude arithmetical methodology that divided the length of judgments delivered by the number of days that had elapsed between the reservation of judgment and the delivery of reasons, in order to produce a number supposedly representing the number of words and paragraphs generated per judge per day. The methodology only needs to be stated to be seen to be meaningless to the point of absurdity.
The Governor-General in Council on Thursday 25 October 2018 appointed Paul Elias Anastassiou QC a Judge of the Federal Court of Australia to commence in the Melbourne Registry of the Court on Friday 1 February 2019.
The Profession will extend a Welcome at a ceremonial sitting of the Full Court in Court 1 of the Federal Court of Australia on Level 8 of the Owen Dixon Commonwealth Law Courts Building, 305 William Street, Melbourne on:
Friday 1 February 2019 at 4:30 pm
All counsel who are able to do so are asked to attend, robed (wigs are not worn in the Federal Court).
It is with deep regret that the Bar Council informs members of the death on Saturday 20 October 2018, of Glenn Noel Holden. Glenn was 68 years of age (born 5 January 1950).
There was a private Funeral on Tuesday 23 October 2018. There will be a Memorial Service and Celebration of Glenn’s Life on Thursday 1 November 2018 at 2 pm in the Rosina Room at the Abbotsford Convent, 1 St Heliers Street, Abbotsford.
ABA Conference—now featuring an evening with Malcolm Turnbull
The ABA has secured the presence of former Prime Minister, the Hon Malcolm Turnbull, as Guest of Honour at the dinner to be held on Friday 16 November as part of its forthcoming national conference, rise2018, to be held in Sydney from 16–17 November. The former Prime Minister will not only give the after-dinner speech, but also subject himself to a Q&A session in a room full of advocates.
The Victorian Bar believes that criticism of Federal Court judges in today’s Australian Financial Review is misconceived.
Analysis undertaken for the newspaper purported to rank the productivity of judges by reference to the average number of days between the completion of a case and the delivery of judgment, and the average number of words and paragraphs they supposedly generate per day.
Last night I presented the findings of the Bar’s first “Wellbeing of the Victorian Bar” survey to members. We were delighted to be joined by Chief Justice Ferguson at the briefing. The judiciary and the Bar are at one on the importance of good physical and mental health if we are all to achieve our potential. We all know that judges and counsel alike work in a high stress, high performance environment, and that we must work together, in partnership, to safeguard the efficient administration of justice.
A landmark survey of Victorian barristers has found more than 70% are satisfied with the overall quality of their working lives, and almost 80% are satisfied with their jobs as a whole.
The first ever Wellbeing of the Victorian Bar survey also highlights areas of concern to members such as workplace stress, lack of sleep and instances of inappropriate workplace conduct. The survey, conducted by researchers from the University of Portsmouth in the UK, attracted 854 valid responses, representing 40% of Victorian practising counsel.
It is with deep regret that the Bar Council informs members of the death late Wednesday night, 10 October 2018, of the Honourable Ian (universally known as “Sam”) Gray, long-retired Supreme Court, and previously County Court, Judge. Sam was 92 years of age (born 6 March 1926).
