The Bar’s membership of the Law Council of Australia (LCA) has been a topic of discussion for some months. To briefly recap, the capitation fee owing to the LCA had not been paid by the previous Bar Council and was overdue. We elected to pay the outstanding debt, thereby securing membership for the current financial year. In December last year, we gave notice to the LCA of our intention not to renew our membership when it fell due, in order to avoid automatically incurring capitation fees for the 2021-2022 year. We hoped to negotiate a better financial arrangement, however that has not been possible.
The Governor-General in Council has appointed Helen Rofe QC as a judge of the Federal Court of Australia in the Victorian registry, commencing on 12 July 2021.
Details of the welcome ceremony will be advised when they become known.
Len, nicknamed the ‘Count’ because of his aristocratic bearing, enduring courtesy and enviable command of every situation, died on 30 May 2021 at the age of 85. He was born in Wolomin, near Warsaw, in 1935. His father was, as he described him, from the Polish landed gentry with estates near Minsk, in Byelorussia, so his nickname was not altogether undeserved. The story of his life in Russian, and later German, occupied Poland before and during the second World War, his flight with his elder sister and brother-in-law to Switzerland and then, as a 15 year old ‘displaced person’, to Australia in 1950 was told by him for the first time at his farewell as a Judge of the County Court of Victoria on 6 September 2007. This story of his early life is incredible and inspiring. Please read it here. If you do not shed a tear you are heartless.
To say the least, it is disappointing to be writing this edition of In Brief in what is now the middle of another lockdown. Hopefully, the extension will have the desired effect and allow us to return to relative normality shortly. Several Bar functions have had to be postponed and we will advise of new dates as soon as possible.
The Welcome Ceremony for Her Honour Magistrate Alexandra Burt and His Honour Magistrate Guillaume Bailin originally scheduled for this Friday 28 May has been postponed due to increased COVID-19 restrictions.
Details of the rescheduled welcome will be made available when they are known.
2021-2022 Victorian Budget - Measures announced in respect of Victorian Courts and Tribunals
The Treasurer of the State of Victoria announced the 2021-22 Budget yesterday. It contains funding for several initiatives of importance to the Victorian Bar, as Victorian barristers, Courts, and Tribunals continue to grapple with the prior and ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The items of interest include:
On Monday evening, I attended the 10th anniversary celebration of the Victorian Legal Aid Trial Counsel Development Program in the Essoign Club. The program was introduced by VLA in 2011 and has been supported by the Bar since its inception. Her Honour Judge Fiona Todd of the County Court of Victoria (herself a graduate) spoke, outlining the benefits the course gives to participants. My congratulations to all those who have completed the program and particularly to those Junior Counsel undertaking the current course.
The Welcome Ceremony taking place at 4:15pm, Thursday, 13 May 2021 at the County Court of Victoria for Her Honour Judge Julie Clayton can be viewed at this link.
