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In Brief Issue #1126
27Oct
This week
The Australian Lawyers Alliance National Conference took place last weekend and I’m very pleased to report that Stella Gold was presented with the ALA’s 2023 Member of the Year Award. Shaun Marcus, National President of the ALA, praised Stella’s work on critical civil liberty and human rights cases in Victoria and specifically referred to her work during the Veronica Nelson Inquest. A fantastic achievement. Well done, Stella.
The AGMs of the Victorian Bar Inc. and the Barristers’ Benevolent Foundation of Victoria Ltd were held on Monday afternoon. Constitutional amendments were proposed which concerned the purposes section of our constitution. The proposed amendments were put to a vote: 508 votes were cast, with 217 (43%) in favour of the amendments and 291 (57%) against them. As a result, they were not adopted. My thanks to everyone who participated in the debate both before the meeting and during it.
After the AGMs, I attended the 2023 Seabrook Chambers Lecture and Dinner at Melbourne Law School. The lecture series was established by former judges of the Accident Compensation Tribunal where internationally renowned guests are invited to speak on issues relating to the rule of law. This year the Hon. Robert Redlich AM KC gave an excellent speech entitled, The Changing Form of the Executive Branch of Government and Declining Accountability. It drew on his extensive experience as Commissioner at IBAC and was really worth listening to. My thanks to the Dean of the Melbourne Law School, Prof Matthew Harding, for inviting me.
On Wednesday evening, I attended a screening of an interesting documentary about George Bizos entitled George Bizos: Icon. The film tells the story of George’s early life in Greece, his passage to South Africa as a refugee, his representation of Nelson Mandela (and many other members of the ANC) as an advocate at the Johannesburg Bar, his later work on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and his long-lasting philanthropic efforts beyond the law. You can read about the production of the film here. My thanks to Joe Tsalanidis, President of the Hellenic Australian Lawyers Association, for the invitation.
Yesterday evening, we held a Bar Council function in the Richard Griffith Library to congratulate our new silks. As you would expect, it was a very happy occasion. I was pleased that the Hon. Chief Justice Alstergren AO and the Hon. Pamela Tate AM KC (chair of the preliminary evaluation committee) could join us. The new silks will take their bows in the Supreme Court, the Federal Court and the Federal Circuit and Family Court on Wednesday, 8 November.
Next week
On Tuesday evening, I’ll attend this year’s Sir Anthony Mason Lecture, which will be given by the Hon. Chief Justice Stephen Gageler AC (who was Sir Anthony’s associate). The event was inaugurated in 1995 – the year Sir Anthony Mason retired as Chief Justice of the High Court. It celebrates his outstanding contribution to the legal profession and the common law of Australia.
Wednesday will see voting open in the 2023 Bar Council election. Nominations closed at 5:00pm yesterday. This year, voting will be open for one week, with polls closing at 5:00pm on Wednesday, 8 November, and results declared by the current Bar Council the next day. All eligible financial members will receive an email from Vero Voting containing a link that will take you to the voting platform.
On Friday next week, I will be attending the welcome ceremony for her Honour Magistrate Carolyn Howe and her Honour Magistrate Allison Vaughan.
Other matters
The Victorian Bar’s Lawyers’ Mediation Certificate course is scheduled to take place over 6 days in late November/early December. Mediation is an essential part of the justice system, with accredited mediators being in high demand. This is an ideal course for members looking to broaden their practice. Barristers, solicitors, academic lawyers, and retired judges have all taken part in previous courses. You’ll earn 8 CPD points for attending. More information is available here and places are limited. You can register here. Further enquiries may be made by email to education@vicbar.com.au.
Sam Hay KC
Formal voting for the 2023-2024 Victorian Bar Council elections will commence at 9:00am on Wednesday, 1 November. The voting period will be for one week, closing at 5:00pm on Wednesday, 8 November.
Eligible financial members will receive an email from Vero Voting under the sender name, ‘Victorian Bar Council Election’, containing the links required to follow and submit your vote.
A ceremonial sitting will be held for the Honourable Justice Mordecai (Mordy) Bromberg and will take place in Court 1, Federal Court of Australia, 305 William Street, Melbourne on Friday, 17 November 2023 at 9:30am.
The sitting will mark the fact that Justice Bromberg will cease his full-time role with the Court and take up the position of President of the Australian Law Reform Commission.
Members who wish to attend the ceremony are asked to RSVP to dimitra.argyros@fedcourt.gov.au by 27 October 2023.
Seating will be arranged in Court 1 or another Court for viewing via video link.
A ceremonial sitting will be held for the retirement of the Honourable Justice Susan Kenny AM and will take place in Court 1, Level 8, Federal Court of Australia, 305 William Street, Melbourne on Friday, 24 November 2023 at 9:30am.
Members who wish to attend the ceremony are asked to RSVP to dimitra.argyros@fedcourt.gov.au by 03 November 2023.
Seating will be arranged in Court 1 or another Court for viewing via video link.
A Bench Welcome to mark the appointment of her Honour Magistrate Allison Vaughan will be held in Courtroom 1, Melbourne Magistrates’ Court, 233 William Street Melbourne on:
Friday, 3 November 2023 at 9:00am
All counsel who are able to do so are asked to attend. The ceremony will also be livestreamed via Webex here.
Mediation is an essential part of the justice system with a great many litigated matters being referred to mediation. Barristers and law professionals wishing to become an accredited mediator under the National Mediator Accreditation System can register for the Lawyers Mediation Certificate (LMC) six-day course (on 24-26 November & 1-3 December 2023) here.
Commanding the Room- A practical workshop with Richard Lawton and Mary Ferguson is on 21 November 2023 from 5:30pm-7:30pm. This seminar demonstrates simple, powerful secrets and strategies of body language and voice to empower barristers in consultative and advocacy areas to reach their peak effectiveness. This is a practical and interactive session which aims to equip them with tools for dealing with performance nerves and creating a strong courtroom presence. This is an in-person event only for barristers. Click here to RSVP.
To celebrate turning 30, WBA is holding a special breakfast event in the Essoign on Wednesday, 1 November at 7:30am (for a 7:45am start). The event will be hosted by Convenor Liz Ruddle KC and features a panel of previous WBA Convenors - the Honourable Judges Liz Gaynor, Samantha Marks and Suzanne Kirton, and barristers Helen Symon KC and Diana Price - to discuss the history of the WBA, how the Bar has changed over time, and what the future holds in store.
Tickets are $35 including a plated breakfast and available here.
The event will conclude by 9:00am. Please RSVP by 4:00pm Friday, 27 October.
Members who have yet to pay their subscription fees are reminded that they are now significantly overdue and should be paid as soon as possible. Bar subscriptions are an integral component of a barrister’s ability to practice. If you have not made arrangements to pay your subscription fees, please do so. Should you require assistance on this or other administrative matters, the Victorian Bar office can help you. Members who need assistance should email membership@vicbar.com.au or contact Mark Bryant on (03) 9225 7111.
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.
- Interlocutory Procedures in Migration Litigation is on 30 October 2023 from 5:15pm-6:15pm. This seminar will cover the use of interlocutory procedures such as interrogatories, requests for further and better particulars, notices to admit, notices to produce documents that can be used for the purposes of judicial review. Such procedures can be used tactically to enhance the prospects of success in the judicial review of migration decisions. This is an in-person event and will also be available online via livestream. Click here to RSVP.
- The Path to Silk is on 1 November 2023 from 5:15pm-6:15pm. Join for a panel discussion with some of the Bar’s leading commercial silks on the different paths they took to get there, the challenges they faced (and overcame), and what they wish they’d known when they were juniors. This is an in-person event only for barristers and will not be livestreamed or recorded. Click here to RSVP.
- Building on shifting sands: The effects of VCAT's eroding jurisdiction is on 2 November 2023 from 5:15pm-6:15pm. In this seminar the speakers will discuss the practical effects of VCAT's restricted jurisdiction for the Tribunal and practitioners, their implications, and the effect of recent legislative reform. This is an in-person event only. Click here to RSVP.
- Cyber risk – presentation on cyber insurance for barristers is on 9 November 2023 from 5:15pm-6:15pm. The seminar will address the nature and extent of the cyber risks to the work tasks of barristers, how cyber insurance works from an underwriting perspective, and how claims are managed. This is an in-person event and will also be available online via livestream. Click here to RSVP.
- Intervention Orders: Everything you wanted to know but were too afraid to ask is on 13 November 2023 from 5:15pm-6:15pm. This seminar will address matters including the intersection of the criminal law and intervention orders, the practical implications of DPP v Cormick [2023] VSCA 186, and counselling orders: essential knowledge for any barrister appearing in both intervention order and breach proceedings. 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.
On Sunday, 5 November at 3:00pm, Opera to Elvis will be performed at the Wesley Church, 130 Lonsdale St. Featuring performances by talented tenor Samuel Thomas-Holland and soprano Helen Koehne, accompanied by Kylie Weston-Scheuber, the concert will feature a series of opera classics, some Elvis numbers and some other favourites. With guest performer, solicitor Henry Wei, performing Chopin’s First Ballade.
Tickets are $35 and available here.
Hilton Melbourne Little Queen Street is offering Bar members an exclusive discount on meals purchased at their restaurant, Luci.
This exclusive discount of 15% is available by clicking the link here.
Use the code VICBAR23 to get a 15% off when dining in.
T&C's apply. Discounts are not to be used in conjunction with any other offer. Percentage off is valid for a maximum discount of $150 per bill. Blackout dates apply.
Offer is valid until 31 December 2023.
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 to access the monthly Best Buys!
A stunning meditation on the remarkable insights that Australia’s trees can offer into our past…
The trees around us – some we may walk past every day – tell a story. The mallee box by the twelfth hole of North Adelaide Golf Course evokes a time when Adelaide was clothed in mallee scrub and desert senna. Brisbane’s remnant blue gum, growing by the botanic gardens, indicates a time when the city was once jungle. The river red gums of Melbourne bear the scars of Aboriginal craftsmanship. Mangroves, Leichhardt trees, acacias, eucalypts, foxtails … together, they inspire a narrative that jumps from Burke and Wills to sugar slaves, Empress Josephine to Johnny Flinders. Eucalypts reveal lost cultures and lost children. Cabbage palms tell of incomparable migrations. In the spirit of Bob Gilbert’s Ghost Trees and Don Watson’s The Bush, this book explores how our trees hold our history and reveal it to us.
Click here to order your copy of 'What the Trees See' by Dave Witty.
A joint sitting of the Federal Circuit Court and Family Court of Australia (Division 1) and Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2) will be held on Wednesday, 8 November 2023 at 10:45am in Courtroom 4A, Level 4, Owen Dixon Commonwealth Law Courts, 305 William Street, Melbourne to recognise the Senior Counsel appointed in and for the State of Victoria in 2023. The sittings are being held directly after the sittings in the Supreme Court of Victoria and the Federal Court of Australia.
Chief Justice Alstergren AO invites members of the Bar to attend to celebrate the new Senior Counsel appointed in and for the State of Victoria.
The ceremonial sitting will be livestreamed for those of you unable to attend: Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 1) & (Division 2) | Silk Bows 2023
Children’s Court of Victoria is proud to announce that CMS Portal is now available for child protection to all legal practitioners. We have expanded the current CMS Help Centre to house support material for both the civil and child protection jurisdictions.
You will be able to access this site at courts.vic.gov.au/cmshelpcentre/, and view quick reference guides, videos, forms and fees information for both jurisdictions as well as seek assistance.
Women’s Legal Service Victoria alongside organisations from across the sector have launched the Starts With Us Framework to guide legal and justice workplaces to prevent gendered violence at work. Everyone has the right to a safe workplace, free from discrimination and harassment, no matter their gender. The Starts With Us Framework steps out how legal and justice workplaces, however big or small, can prevent gendered violence before it begins, by changing attitudes, cultural norms and systems and structures. Read more here.
The lift in the Supreme Court Library is closed for upgrade works until further notice.
- Access to Level 1 collections and public toilets will be via stairs only.
- Material from Level 2 and 3 must be requested in advance. Use the contact form to submit requests and to check retrieval times.
The Richard Griffith Library provides Bar members access to the same online resources available in the Supreme Court Library.
Barristers also have access to a range of legal resources on their own devices via the Digital Bar Library on the Law Library website.
The skills of a barrister are best learned in an environment that is as close to the real experience as possible. This involves providing realistic briefs to counsel in sufficient time for counsel to properly prepare the matter for hearing and then giving them the opportunity to perform in real court settings.
The Advanced Trial Advocacy Intensive involves discussion and comment on each aspect of trial performance.
Places are limited to 42 barristers for this intensive. Seniority of at least five years at the private bar is a pre-requisite.
Find out more about the course here.
Location: Sydney
Dates: 22 - 26 January 2024
Cost: Criminal Brief $5,000.00
Civil Brief $5,400.00
Registrations close 30 November 2023
Register here.
Melbourne Law School is pleased to present the following events:
2023 Sir Anthony Mason Lecture:
The New Constitutional Scholarship in Australia
Presenter: Justice Gageler AC
We hope you can join us for this opportunity to hear Justice Gageler AC speak. Light refreshments will be served from 5:30pm with the lecture starting at 6:00pm.
Date & time: Tuesday, 31 October 2023, 5:30pm - 7:00pm
Location: Melbourne Law School, G08 Theatre, 185 Pelham St, Carlton
Further information and registration
2023 Baxt Public Lecture
Competition Law in the Age of Algorithms and Artificial Intelligence
Presenter: Professor Thomas Cheng, University of Hong Kong
In this lecture, Professor Thomas Cheng will explore how algorithms and artificial intelligence may change the way that dominant companies misuse their market power, both as buyers and sellers. In particular, he will examine how dominant companies may use algorithms and artificial intelligence to effectively engage in predatory conduct, exclude competitors, and exploit their market power, and consider how this could challenge and change our understanding and analysis of misuse of market power under competition law. We hope you can join us for this opportunity to hear Professor Thomas Cheng speak. Light refreshments will be served from 5:30pm with the lecture starting at 6:00pm.
Date & time: Thursday, 2 November 2023, 5:30pm - 7:00pm
Location: Melbourne Law School, G08 Theatre, 185 Pelham St, Carlton
Further information and registration
2023 Allen Hope Southey Memorial Lecture
Deception by Design
Presenter: Professor Lauren E. Willis, LMU Loyola Law School (Los Angeles)
Businesses are increasingly able to disseminate rapidly proliferating permutations of digital marketing materials, sales interfaces and scripts, and products themselves, each of which can be aimed at particular consumers in real-time and space. When the algorithms that design these are optimised only for profit and deception is profitable, consumers will be deceived. Yet as dark patterns and other forms of digital deception are becoming inevitable, they also are racing toward immunity from liability. Common legal methods for assessing whether conduct is misleading or deceptive are either inapplicable or impracticable when applied to vast numbers of machine-produced micro-targeted designs. In this lecture, Professor Lauren E. Willis will review these developments and propose a regulatory model devised to incentivise businesses to engage in fair marketing by design. We hope you can join us for this opportunity to hear Prof. Lauren E. Willis speak. The theatre doors will be open from 5:45pm and the lecture will begin at 6:00pm. The entrance doors to the David P. Derham Theatre are located on level 1 and on the Mezzanine floor.
Date & time: Thursday, 16 November 2023, 6:00pm - 7:00pm
Location: Melbourne Law School, GM15 David P. Derham Theatre, 185 Pelham St, Carlton
Further information and registration
2023 James Merralls Fellowship Law Lecture
The Resurgence of Indigenous Law
Presenter: Professor John Borrows, University of Toronto Law School
In this lecture, Professor Borrows will discuss how Indigenous peoples’ legal principles can generate rich resources for decision-making in contemporary circumstances. They can be reinvigorated, revised or newly created to enhance governance and policy within Indigenous communities and beyond. This can develop community capacity, foster local, state and national leadership, develop business opportunities, and influence policy. Revitalizing and newly developing Indigenous law can help develop well-being and economic success. Corporations and other commercial actors can also benefit from understanding, applying and incorporating Indigenous law in their agreements and activities with Indigenous peoples. When we see law as something people do, which invites participation, deliberation, persuasion, disagreement, discussion and agreement, this opens space for the revitalization of law and economic opportunities in broader ways. We hope you can join us for this opportunity to hear Prof. John Borrows speak. The lecture will commence at 6:00pm sharp and is proudly co-hosted alongside the Victorian Bar.
Date & time: Wednesday, 22 November 2023, 6:00pm - 7:00pm
Location: Melbourne Law School, G08 Theatre, 185 Pelham St, Carlton
Further information and registration
2023 Francis Gurry Public Lecture on Intellectual Property:
Towards a sustainable patent system and society
Presenter: Mr António Campinos, President of the European Patent Office
This year the European Patent Office (EPO) celebrated 50 years of the European Patent Convention (EPC). In that time, the signatories to the EPC have grown from 16 to 39 Member States, and the EPO has granted over 2 million European Patents. Building upon the achievements of the EPO’s Strategic Plan 2023, the new Strategic Plan 2028 is about to be launched and will centre on one overarching goal: sustainability. SP2028 is set to guide the EPO towards establishing a more sustainable European Patent Organisation and patent system that can support the innovation ecosystem, economic growth and competitiveness in Europe and beyond. In this presentation, the President of the EPO will share his vision for the next stage of the Organisation’s contribution to the patent system and the societal benefits it brings. We hope you can join us for this opportunity to hear Mr António Campinos speak. Please join us for welcome drinks and refreshments from 5:15pm, before the lecture presentation commences at 6:00pm sharp.
The Francis Gurry Lecture series has been generously supported by AIPPI Australia, IP Australia, IPSANZ, and LESANZ.
Date & time: Tuesday 28 November 2023, 5:15pm - 7:00pm
Location: Woodward Conference Centre & Online livestream, Melbourne Law School, 185 Pelham St, Carlton
The National Environmental Law Association is holding its annual National Conference in Melbourne (and online) on Friday, 3 November 2023. The theme is ‘Intersecting crises of climate change and biodiversity loss – where to next for Australian environmental law?’
Speakers include:
- the Hon Tanya Plibersek MP, Min for the Environment
- the Hon Justice Jayne Jagot, High Court
- the Hon Justice Mordecai Bromberg, Federal Court/President ALRC
- the Hon Justice Sarah Pritchard, NSW Land and Environment Court
- Deputy President Teresa Bisucci, VCAT Planning & Environment List
- Dr Jack Pascoe and Prof Brendan Wintle, Biodiversity Council
- Dr Andrea Vecchi, University of Melbourne
Date: Friday 3 November 2023
Location: Woodward Conference Centre, University of Melbourne and online
Tickets are selling fast!
Online conference only: $180 - $250; In Person Conference only $520 - $590; In Person Conference plus Dinner $$580 - $650
More information and ticket purchase available here.
Members and guests are invited to attend the Australian Academy of Forensic Science (Victorian Chapter) Annual General Meeting with Dinner and Plenary Presentations by
Dr Maria Corazon A. De Ungria
Head, DNA Analysis Laboratory, Natural Sciences Research Institute
University of the Philippines Diliman
Director, Program on Biodiversity, Ethnicity, and Forensics
Philippine Genome Center
Presentation Topic: Changing Lives Through Forensic DNA Testing
Attorney Jose M. Jose
Director, Innocence Project Philippines Network, Inc.
Litigator handling civil and criminal cases, estate proceedings, election law, and agrarian reform law
Presentation Topic: Death Penalty and the Drug War in the Philippines: Can Forensic Sciences Make A Difference?
Tuesday, 14 November, 2023, 6:30pm
Bayside Room
Level 2, RACV Club, 501 Bourke St., Melbourne
Dress: Business attire
Cost: Members $110 | Partners & Guests $125
2 Course Dinner
Beverages included
Reduced car parking fee
Please RSVP by Wednesday, 8 November using the form here.
With Peter Bartlett (Media Partner, MinterEllison)
Tuesday, 05 December 2023 | 12:00pm – 2:30pm AEDT | InterContinental Melbourne The Rialto
Dispute Resolution: The Media Challenge
“The Defamation Trial of the Century”
You are invited to attend the 2023 Resolution Institute Annual Lunch featuring special guest speaker, Peter Bartlett, Media Partner, MinterEllison and the leader of the Nine Defence Team.
Litigation throws up many challenges. Few like this case. Ben Roberts-Smith, one of Australia’s most decorated War Heros, took on the Nine Network (the Melbourne Age, the Sydney Morning Herald and two of Australia’s leading journalists). It was a significant challenge to the public’s right to know. Roberts-Smith was able to use every legal option at his disposal. Peter Bartlett will provide key insights on meeting the challenges of the matter that ultimately delivered a comprehensive win (now subject to Appeal) in what has been hailed by Australian media as ‘The Defamation Trial of the Century’.
The lunch will be held at InterContinental Melbourne The Rialto. Located in the heart of Melbourne on Collins Street in the business and legal precincts, the hotel is a fine dining destination with a stylish mix of heritage and modern luxury surrounded by contemporary artworks. Comprising Entrée, Main, Petit Fours and Beverages, lunch will commence with Networking Drinks on Arrival from 12:00 to 12:30pm and will conclude at 2:30pm.
Join fellow members and guests of the judiciary, government, media and commerce for what will be a must-attend event. As seats are strictly limited, be sure to register asap.
Click here for more information and to register.
Inquiries: Gianna Totaro
0438 337 328
Justice Human Research Ethics Committee (the Committee) seeks expressions of interest from suitably qualified candidates with a legal qualification. Experience or interest in either medical ethics law, health, privacy, human rights or administrative law would be well regarded.
The Committee provides robust and independent consideration of research applications put before it for ethical review according to its criteria for referral and the ethical standards set out in the National Health and Medical Research Council's National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (National Statement, 2018).
As our ideal candidate you will:
- Be familiar with the National Statement and consult other guidelines relevant to the review of specific research proposals;
- Prepare for, and attend, eight Committee meetings per annum as well as an annual professional development day;
- Identify the relevant risks and benefits of research proposals and assess how well risks are addressed in any proposed mitigation measures;
- Decide whether the research proposals considered meet the requirements of the National Statement;
Applications close Sunday, 29 October 2023.
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, 2nd November 2023