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In Brief Issue #1066
22Jul
On behalf of the Bar I extend my congratulations to Lucia Raponi, David Langton and Brett Sonnet on their respective appointment as a Magistrate of the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria. I wish each of them all the best for the challenges ahead.
The Bar Council seeks expressions of interest from members to serve on the committees of the Australian Bar Association.
The ABA has a number of committees across interest areas which include: Criminal Law, Diversity & Inclusion, Ethics, Family Law, Indigenous Issues, International, Practice Development and Taxation.
I encourage all members who are interested to apply. Details are set out below. I acknowledge and thank current serving members on ABA committees for their hard work and dedication.
I was very pleased to hear from a member of counsel this week that VCAT had facilitated a five day in person hearing for a priority case. VCAT has unfortunately been slower than other jurisdictions to return to in person hearings because of limitations on its resources. It is great to see all courts and tribunals busier with in person hearings.
Next Thursday at 9:15am, there will be a ceremonial sitting in the County Court of Victoria to mark the appointment of Her Honour Judge Nola Karapanagiotidis. Members are able to attend in person and details are set out below.
Róisín Annesley QC
Thank you to those members who have paid their subscriptions by the due date. If you have not paid your Subscriptions for the 2022-2023 Financial Year, we ask members to make payment of your subscription now. Please click here. If you have any questions relating to your subscription, please contact membership or call on 9225 8326.
The Attorney-General of Victoria has announced the appointments of five Magistrates to the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria, including three members of the Victorian Bar:
Her Honour Magistrate Lucia Raponi
His Honour Magistrate David Langton
His Honour Magistrate Brett Sonnet
These appointments were effective as Tuesday, 19 July 2022.
Details of the welcome ceremonies will be advised when they become known.
County Court of Victoria
A welcome sitting to mark the appointment of Her Honour Judge Nola Karapanagiotidis as a judge of the County Court of Victoria will be held in Ceremonial Courtroom 3.3, Level 3, 250 William Street, Melbourne on:
Thursday, 28 July 2022 at 9:15am
If you would like to attend this ceremony in-person, you will be required to be fully vaccinated and self-administer a RAT on the morning of the Welcome.
Barristers can collect a RAT from the Victorian Bar office located at Owen Dixon Chambers East, Level 5, 205 William Street. As per current directives, the RAT may be collected the business day before, but no earlier.
If you are unable to attend in person, the welcome will be live-streamed here.
Supreme Court of Victoria
A welcome sitting to mark the appointment of the Honourable Justice Andrea Tsalamandris as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria will be held in Banco Court on:
Tuesday, 2 August 2022 at 9:15am.
The ceremony will be live-streamed and available to watch remotely. Details will become available on the website when available.
Consistent with its commitment to transparency and ensuring that all members have a fair opportunity to represent the Victorian Bar, the Victorian Bar Council has organised an expression of interest for its representation on ABA Committees. The expression of interest period opens today, 22 July 2022, and closes on 5 August 2022.
Please click here to express your interest. Please note, current sitting members who wish to remain on a Committee must complete the form as well.
Members working on pro bono matters can once again seek assistance from selected Monash University law students through the Open Justice Project.
Students can assist with legal and paralegal tasks, such as legal research, simple drafting, and preparing chronologies or summaries of evidence. The Project is now in its second year. From its first year, barristers reported that they received very high-quality assistance on a wide range of matters. Barristers seeking the assistance of a student for a pro bono matter should complete the request form on the Open Justice Project webpage.
The Open Justice Project is a collaboration between the Victorian Bar and the Monash Faculty of Law. It establishes a panel of later-year undergraduate and postgraduate students at the Faculty who provide pro bono legal assistance (such as research and paralegal assistance) to barristers in pro bono matters. The Patron of the Project is the Honourable Chris Maxwell AC, former President of the Court of Appeal. Members can see the Open Justice Project web page for further information about the Project here.
Nominations for the next Victorian Bar Pro Bono Awards are still open.
The next Victorian Bar Pro Bono Awards Ceremony is scheduled for March 2023, and nominations for the 2023 awards are open until November 2022.
If you are aware of barristers who are making an outstanding contribution representing parties on a pro bono basis, please consider making nominations throughout the nomination period.
For more information or to submit a nomination, click here.
Information about the Awards includes a short video featuring the Honourable Chris Maxwell AC, former President of the Victorian Court of Appeal, explaining how pro bono assistance provided by barristers makes a difference to vulnerable people in our community. The Pro Bono Committee is grateful to Michael Rivette, barrister and past Deputy Chair of the Pro Bono Committee and past Chair of the Communications Committee, for all his hard work in creating this excellent video.
Members are reminded that information about how you can get involved in the Victorian Bar’s Pro Bono Schemes is available on the Pro Bono page of the members’ website here.
- Click Multi Factor Authentication (MFA): to read the recent BCL communication to ensure your Microsoft Office 365 data and @vicbar.com.au email account remains protected from the constant threat of cyber crime. All @vicbar email accounts require this additional layer of protection as a part of the next password change prompt.
- COVIDSafe at BCL: click here to see what we are doing in regards to healthy building improvements as our COVID-19 response and what you need to do in the event of a positive COVID-19 result.
The following are highlights of upcoming CPD and events for Victorian Bar members. You must be a member of the Victorian Bar and log into the VicBar website to view these events.
- Vicarious trauma in Legal Practice is on 28 July 2022 from 5:15pm-6:15pm. Vicarious trauma is a growing problem for lawyers, judges and others in the legal profession who are dealing with vulnerable citizens in the course of their work. It’s important to be able to recognise the signs of trauma exposure and to know how to respond – both for yourself, your colleagues and your clients. Trauma-informed best-practice can make it easier to navigate the emotional, mental and physical responses to traumatic events. This is an online only event. Click here to register.
- Mediation of insolvency disputes is on 2 August 2022 from 5:00pm-6:00pm. In this presentation the speakers will review some of the specific issues to be dealt with in mediations of insolvency disputes, both issues for insolvency practitioners and issues for persons facing claims. This is an in-person event and will also be available online via livestream. Click here to register.
- Common Law Practice: bringing work back to in-court hearings and chambers post COVID-19 is on 3 August 2022 from 5:15pm-6:15pm. This CPD is themed around maiden speech of Bell CJ, NSW Supreme Court delivered on 8 March 2022 at [20] – [22]. This is an in-person event and will also be available online via livestream. Click here to register.
For more upcoming CPD events, please visit our listings here.
The VicBar Choir invites you to join its group. A new term is about to commence
Time: 1–2:00pm, Wednesdays, in-person and via Zoom.
Dates: The choir will meet for a 8-week term, and started on Wednesday, 4 May, to Wednesday, 8 September 2022.
Cost: $30 a week (casual – fee relief readily available) – $220 a term.
For more information, contact the Bar office on 9225 7111 or reception@vicbar.com.au.
Click here for the payment form.
Studio 11 is delighted to host its current solo exhibition Aerial Landscapes of Australia featuring 22 works by local artist Greg Mallyon who is an accomplished and highly collectable artist with a gift for depicting the lyricism of landscape through typographical perspectives. With a Masters in Art (University of NSW), his bold and distinctive paintings are inspired by aerial views of the land below, including geographic features such as lakes, gorges, rivers and deserts, along with the human imprint of cities, buildings, industrial sites and roads. In 2021 Greg won the inaugural National Capital Art Prize for landscape. All works in the exhibition are for sale (with no GST or commission payable). Works sheets are available at Level 11, Owen Dixon Chambers East. The exhibition runs until 16 September 2022. Why not take some time out of your day to come enjoy the exhibition.
Dear Essoign Club Members,
We are open daily from 7:30am – till late and Happy hour is back EVERY EVENING with $5 Beer and Wine from 5:00pm till close.
Breakfast - for dine-in or takeaway.
Lunch – Daily Café Menu take away or delivery.
Lunch Dine-In - A La Carte from midday.
Bar – EVERY EVENING - $5 Beer & Wine from 5pm till late with light snacks available.
Catering & Events - Special lunches, working lunches, private dinners or something special you may have in mind. Email us at essoign@vicbar.com.au
We appreciate your ongoing support and look forward to seeing you in the Club.
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!
The Commercial Division Omnibus Practice Note PNCO 2 of 2022 (“Practice Note”) was published on the County Court of Victoria’s website on 6 July 2022.
You can read about it in the news story published on our website, here.
The new Practice Note will come into operation on 1 August 2022, and represents a significant change in the approach to the management of cases within the Division.
Some key changes include:
- new rules concerning expert evidence, including mandating applications for leave to adduce expert evidence and prioritising the use of single joint experts;
- the introduction of the Complex Cases List;
- expanded alternative dispute resolution practices;
- new approaches to lower value claims and matters involving self-represented litigants; and
- a suite of new “replaceable orders”.
Accompanying the Practice Note is the new Commercial Division Standard Orders Booklet (“Standard Orders Booklet”), which corresponds to and draws on the replaceable orders throughout the Practice Note. The Standard Orders Booklet sets out orders in the style and format that the Commercial Division prefers in one easy and accessible document. Practitioners should consult the booklet whenever they draft consent orders to be submitted to the Court.
The Practice Note and Standard Orders Booklet are available here:
The Magistrates Court of Victoria will be utilising the Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner email address for you as they move forward in their digital transformation journey. Please ensure your email address held by VLSBC is correct and is monitored.
A feature of the new case management system being rolled out in the civil jurisdiction at MCV will be court generated eNotifications that will utilise this email address. If you need any further information please do not hesitate to contact us at cms.project@courts.vic.gov.au.
The Judicial College of Victoria has launched a new website.
Featuring a brand-new design and improved search, the new website houses the College's bench books, resource collections and latest news. It places key legal resources at your fingertips.
The College has completely redesigned and restructured its resource collections, curating a wide range of resources across legal, procedural, and behavioural practices.
In addition to vital resources on topics such as criminal law & procedure and evidence law, the College has also launched a First Nations resource collection.
This brand-new collection is intended to inform judicial officers about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, and legal issues concerning community.
Access the site: www.judicialcollege.vic.edu.au
The Sentencing Advisory Council has released a new report exploring the approaches of Australian sentencing courts towards adverse media coverage and the significant consequences it can have for offenders. It reveals why and when media coverage might be a relevant sentencing consideration. The aim of the report is to draw attention to this ‘unsettled’ area of law and try to reduce inconsistency in how courts approach it.
Access the media release here.
Download the report here.
Log in to the Digital Library to access key legal resources no matter where you are – powered by Law Library Victoria. This week we are taking a closer look at HeinOnline:
• Contains 1000s of legal titles all on a single platform
• Features Australian, English, US and Canadian material
• Includes journals, law reports, and legislation
Some standout resources available on this database:
- Australian Law Reform Commission Library
- Times Law Reports
- Historical UK legislation
- English Reports (1220-1867)
- Federal Law Review
- US and Canadian primary legal material
- Legal Classics Collection
To access HeinOnline and other databases in the Digital Library, register and log in to the Law Library website.
Thursday, 28 July 2022 – 5:15pm-6:15pm
Topic: Recent Developments in Admiralty: here and abroad
Justice SC Derrington AM, Justice Stewart
Chaired by Justice Rares
Click here to view the flyer for more information and for the link.
The National Environmental Law Association and King & Wood Mallesons invite you to a fireside chat between Tomo Boston QC, Victorian Bar and Edwina Kwan, Partner, KWM on the trends arising out of international treaties, ICISD tribunal decisions and cross-border litigation. This is a free, face to face only event.
DATE: Thursday, 28 July 2022 at 5:30pm
VENUE: King & Wood Mallesons, Level 27, Collins Arch, 447 Collins Street, Melbourne
Although the event is free, please register your attendance here.
Thursday, 28 July 2022.
Join us for this topical webinar presented by Eleos Justice in partnership with Capital Punishment Justice Project. China is the world’s largest executioner, and while exact figures remain a state secret, it is estimated that thousands of executions are carried out each year. In this seminar, we speak with Matthew Robertson, whose recent research provides evidence of physicians in China participating in executions by organ removal. Please join us online via webinar on Thursday, 28 July.
Please register here.
The in-person event includes additional welcome drinks and conference brunch events, and tickets can be purchased separately for the Conference Gala Dinner. The dinner will feature a sponsored Gin bar, the announcement of the AWL Award winner and award-winning comedian Steph Tisdell, an evening not to be missed.
We have an impressive line-up of speakers across the conference including the Chief Justices of the High Court and QLD Supreme Court, Professor Megan Davis, Jane Caro, and leading silks Fiona McLeod SC and Jane Needham SC among many more brilliant guests. Our full online program is available here.
Our conference sub-committee have gathered sponsors and made great efforts to keep costs to you down, and at the same time enhancing the experience with fantastic gift bags and door prizes, a coffee cart onsite, and with the brunch and welcome functions there are extra chances to network and socialise while we earn CPD points, talk about the things that matter to us and what we can do about them.
Come and join us in-person for the first time in 4 years, or online if you can’t make the journey this time.
For information and enquires please contact President Leah Marrone on 0438 894 171, or via email - austwomenlawyerspresident@gmail.com
The Australian Bar Association, the peak national body representing more than 6,000 barristers throughout Australia and established in 1963, is seeking to engage a motivated senior Executive Assistant to provide support to the President and CEO to further the work of the organisation.
Applications close on 22 July 2022 and should be emailed to CEO@austbar.asn.au.
Further information about the role is also available by emailing CEO@austbar.asn.au.
Click here to view the flyer with more information.
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, 28th July 2022