With bushfires again devastating Victoria and other states, it is difficult to celebrate the beginning of 2020 without thinking about the individuals and communities, towns, farms, bushland and wildlife affected by these terrible events.
I am proud of, and humbled by, the Bar’s response through Disaster Legal Help Victoria - our alliance with Victoria Legal Aid, the Federation of Community Legal Centres, the Law Institute of Victoria and Justice Connect - to help with pro bono legal support to those affected. Within the first 24 hours, more than 60 members of the Bar had registered on the Disaster Legal Help site – the vast majority of the first registrants. You can still do so through this link. Victoria Legal Aid is coordinating requests for assistance from the public with practitioners with the appropriate experience who have registered on the site.
Disaster Legal Help Victoria is a collaboration between Victoria Legal Aid, the Federation of CommunityLegal Centres, the Law Institute of Victoria, the Victorian Bar and Justice Connect.
I am happy to report that the new password policy implemented earlier this year has led to a notable improvement to the safety of the VicBar email system.
Like all organisations, the Victorian Bar is at constant risk of cyberattacks and phishing attempts. While it can be irritating to update your password on a regular basis, BCL’s statistics show that the new password policy implemented this year has been highly effective in foiling the hackers.
We all have a part to play in keeping our IT systems safe. Please continue to keep up your guard against suspicious emails, links and attachments. BCL will continue to monitor the dark web and undertake testing to try to ensure the security of the systems used by our members.
2019 has been a year of great achievement at the Bar. We’ve welcomed 125 new colleagues and celebrated the appointment of 19 of our members to the bench. But it’s also been a year of reflection for many of us.
Retired Victorian Bar member Robert Todd AM passed away on 9 December 2019 at the age of 87 years.
A celebration of Robert’s life will be held on Tuesday 17 December at 11am at the Church of St John the Baptist, 45 Constitution Avenue, Reid, Canberra. All are welcome.
What do government solicitors need from barristers?
When schedules get busy, time is precious and budgets are tight, it is important to focus on what matters most to clients. This week, Wendy Harris QC and the Bar hosted more than 30 solicitors from the VGSO at a networking event to help the government solicitors get to know more barristers, and for the Bar to gain a deeper insight into how the VGSO works and what the VGSO and its clients need from those they instruct.
Earlier this week, eighteen newly appointed senior counsel for the state of Victoria took their bows in the Supreme Court of Victoria, Federal Court of Australia and Family Court of Australia. These ceremonies are a wonderful rite of passage for new silks, and an opportunity for their family and friends to join in the profession’s acknowledgement of their appointment.
Retired Victorian Bar member Raymond Rosenberg passed away on 24 November 2019 at the age of 70 years.
Funeral service: Tuesday 26 November at 1pm.
Funeral to commence at Shtiebel at Melbourne Chevra Kadisha, 50 Browns Road Noble Park. Funeral will continue afterwards at Springvale Botanical Cemetery at 2pm. Enter via Police Road.
This week the Bar launched our new Pro Bono platform, which can be used by all current practising members to access and manage pro bono requests from the Supreme Court, County Court and Coroner’s Court of Victoria, as well as managing and documenting personal pro bono briefs.
