In Brief Issue #1129

A welcome ceremony to mark the appointment of the Honourable Associate Justice Caroline Goulden as an associate judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria will be held in Banco Court, Supreme Court of Victoria, 210 William Street, Melbourne on:

Monday, 27 November 2023 at 9:15am

A welcome ceremony to mark the appointment of the Honourable Justice Andrew Watson as a judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria will be held in Banco Court, Supreme Court of Victoria, 210 William Street, Melbourne on:

Monday, 4 December 2023 at 9:15 am

A welcome ceremony to mark the appointment of the Honourable Justice Claire Harris as a judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria will be held in Banco Court, Supreme Court of Victoria, 210 William Street, Melbourne on:

Wednesday, 6 December 2023 at 9:15am

Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions  

The Attorney-General of Australia has announced the appointment of Raelene Sharp KC as the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, commencing 4 December 2023.

Raelene Sharp KC has been a barrister at the Victorian Bar since 2010 and was appointed Senior Counsel in 2022. She has broad public law experience, both as counsel in public law litigation and through her work with the Office of the Special Investigator and the then Australian Crime Commission.

Expressions of interest are sought from members of the Bar who wish to remain on, or become a member of, one or more of the Bar committees. A copy of the protocol of appointments is accessed here.

It is through the Bar’s committees that a great deal of the work of the Bar as a representative professional institution is done. The selfless contribution of time and effort given by members is a donation of great value to the Bar and to the wider community.

All members who have an interest in serving on any of the committees in 2023-2024 must submit an expression of interest, even if they have previously served on the committee. Existing committee members should note that if you do not complete an expression of interest, it will be assumed that you no longer wish to continue your membership of any committee.

You will need to be logged in to the Bar website to express interest.

Click here to express interest.

All practising counsel are invited to express interest. Experience is not a prerequisite to serve on a committee.

Each Bar committee takes seriously its role in advancing the interests of members of the Bar fulfilling the purposes of the committee. Those seeking election to a committee should, therefore, not underestimate the workload. Click here for a copy of the role descriptions and responsibilities of each of the committees.

The deadline for receipt of expressions of interest is 5:00pm on Thursday, 23 November 2023.

For any enquiries, please contact Sharni Doherty: sharni.doherty@vicbar.com.au.

At its meeting on 9 November 2023, the Bar Council resolved to seek expressions of interest for the positions of Honorary Secretary and Assistant Honorary Secretary. 

Click here to express interest.

Expressions of interest must be received before 5:00pm on Thursday, 23 November 2023.

The Honorary Secretary and Assistant Honorary Secretary:

• assist in the administration of membership matters, which includes dealing with applications to sign the Roll of Counsel and transfer requests from existing members;
• interview prospective readers prior to each Readers’ Course;
• attend Bar Council and management meetings of officeholders and staff when required;
• assists the Bar Council Officeholders and members particularly in respect of the constitutional responsibilities of the Bar Council.

The time required to perform the role varies from week to week. On average, about 3-4 hours should be allocated each week, however the time required will be greater at certain times during the year, especially when reader interviews are being conducted prior to each Readers’ Course.

Following Georgina Schoff KC’s appointment as the President of the Victorian Bar on 9 November 2023, she has resigned from the BCL Board and will not be standing for re-appointment for a further term. The BCL Constitution provides that BCL must have no less than three (3) and no more than ten (10) directors. In accordance, the BCL board now has one position available.

Appointment of a director to BCL will be done in consultation with the current BCL board. It is important that the directors of BCL have the requisite skills to manage and administer the business of BCL. Experience and expertise in corporate governance, business, town planning and/or the property industry is important. The deadline for receipt of expressions of interest is Thursday, 30 November 2023 at 5:00pm. Please direct any interest to Sharni Doherty at sharni.doherty@vicbar.com.au.

The Victorian Bar has been invited to nominate two local legal practitioners for appointment to the Supreme Court Library Committee. In accordance with the Supreme Court Library Rules (Rule 7 of Supreme Court Library Rules 2019), these appointees must be confirmed by the Council of Judges in December each year.

All members of the Supreme Court Library Committee sit ex officio on the Law Library of Victoria Committee.

The Library’s mission is to support the administration of, and access to, justice, and the practice of law by providing comprehensive and authoritative legal information to judicial officers, the profession and the community of Victoria.

This is achieved by prioritising:

• Providing a comprehensive and authoritative collection of legal resources
• Enhancing legal research capabilities
• Increasing awareness and reach of resources and services
• Strengthen collaboration and partnerships with jurisdictions and key organisations within the legal profession
• Enhancing library governance and continuing to develop a modern and dynamic workforce for the future.

Services are primarily digital (via www.lawlibrary.vic.gov.au) and provide equitable access to library services and resources to practitioners across all of Victoria.

Interested members should submit their expression of interest, together with a copy of their CV and details of any relevant experience or expertise.

The Bar’s protocol for nomination and appointment of Vic Bar members to external bodies can be viewed here.  

Please direct any enquiries or Expressions of Interest to Sharni Doherty at sharni.doherty@vicbar.com.au.

The closing date for Expressions of Interest is Tuesday, 21 November 2023.

Are you interested in increasing your skill in working through your own challenging workplace moments?

Are you interested in getting better at listening to a colleague talk about their own challenging workplace moments?

If you have answered ‘yes’ to both questions, you are a potential candidate for a new peer group program initiated by the Health and Wellbeing committee. The program is being funded by the LSB and will be developed by Bernadette Healy in consultation with the committee, and with program participants. This is a pilot program which is trying out a new and small-group approach to dealing with the particular challenges of being a barrister. The program will be conducted in a safe and confidential environment. 

To express interest please contact ed@vicbar.com.au or to ask any questions please call Bernadette on 0417 351 677 or email her at bhealy@revisiongroup.com.au

Bar Roll No.: 4212

Victoria Legal Aid in partnership with the Alcorn and Gibson family is hosting a celebration of David Gibson’s life and career.

The celebration will be held at The Metropolitan Hotel, 265 William Street, Melbourne on

Thursday, 23 November 2023 at 4:30-6:30pm.

Click here for more information and to register.

Office of the Public Prosecutions (OPP) New Barrister Development Program is on 24 November 2023 from 9:00am-4:00pm. The Office of Public Prosecutions (OPP) is pleased to announce a new specialist course – the OPP New Barrister Development Program. The program includes structured educational sessions (including CPD points) led by the Chief Crown Prosecutor, Senior Crown Prosecutors and experienced OPP solicitors and social workers. For more information see flyer. This is an in-person event only. Click here to RSVP.

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.

• Effective 1 December 2023, members who do not have chambers with BCL are required to pay via direct debit for technology services. Click here to register for direct debit, and click here for most recent communication.
• Why Take Chambers with BCL? As a wholly owned subsidiary of the Victorian Bar, BCL provides a flexible and unique solution to chambers and technology support that is only available to members of the Bar. Click here to view our current vacancies.

Members are invited to the annual Victorian Bar End of Year Drinks. This year it is scheduled to be held from 5:00pm until 7:00pm on Thursday, 14 December 2023 in the Peter O’Callaghan QC Gallery (West).

Click here to register.

Dear friends & allies,

You are warmly invited to attend the Victorian Bar's Rainbow Drinks end of year cocktail party!

When: Friday, 15 December from 6:00 - 8:00pm
Where: The Builders Arm Hotel (Bowery Room), 211 Gertrude Street. Fitzroy.
Who: Barristers, partners, judicial officers, associates & solicitors (all welcome!)

For a change of scenery, we are holding our event off-site this year. It is a ticketed event and tickets are limited, so get yours quick!

Tickets: $110 p/p (inclusive of drinks & canapes).
Dress: Cocktail

To RSVP and secure your place click here.

Unable to make it? Please consider purchasing a solidarity ticket to support the event and/or provide access for junior attendees. Just note “solidarity” under Dietary Requirements on your form. If you are a reader or think you need a solidarity ticket, no questions asked, please let us know.

Contacts: Beth Warnock, John Heard or Owen Nanlohy.

Click here to view the flyer.

Dost Mentoring Group is proud to announce that its Melbourne CBD fundraising concert will be held on Thursday, 30 November at 6:00pm.

Venue: The Melbourne Lyceum Club, 1 Ridgway Pl, Melbourne

Drinks and canapes at 6pm will be followed by an hour of classical music performed by talented members of Melbourne’s legal profession, with performances featuring violin, cello, piano, clarinet and vocals. Performers include Justice Alister McNab, Judge Paul Glass and barristers Kylie Weston-Scheuber and Alice Wharldall.

Dost is an incorporated association that operates under the umbrella of Community Refugee Support Association (CRSA). Funds raised from the event will be used by Dost to provide financial support for a refugee family whom they will sponsor under CRSA’s Community Refugee Integration and Settlement Pilot from the first day of their arrival in Australia. More information about CRSA and the program can be found here. You can also contact Kylie Weston-Scheuber for further information on kylie.weston-scheuber@vicbar.com.au.

Tickets are $120 (including drinks and canapes prior to the concert). To purchase tickets, please click here. Please book by 24 November at the latest.

*Club members, Frances Millane and Diana Bryant AM KC will host this private event. The Lyceum Club is a private members’ club. In the interests of respecting privacy within the club and the privacy and confidentiality of information about others, you are not permitted to broadcast on social media or take photographs/videos of the event. However, please note that Dost will designate a person to take photographs/videos of the performers and the performance can be shared without attribution of the venue. 

*Image by Starline on Freepik

Tuesday, 21 November from 5:00pm

The Essoign Club – Level 1, 205 William Street Melbourne

You are invited to the Official Exhibition Opening of:

Kate Ballis
Atlantis Revisited

This series by Kate Ballis explores the mythology of the lost lands of Atlantis.

Shot in the Greek Isles, the narrative blends Plato’s story of Atlantis in Timaeus and Critias (c 360BCE), the history of the Minoan Civilisation and the new age concepts of Atlantis.

These striking photographs have been created using an infrared filter on a converted full spectrum camera to capture the essence of myth, where the line between truth and fiction is blurred.

Please see Exhibition Catalogue here.

Brought to you by Marita Smith, Director of Gallerysmith in collaboration with The Essoign Club.

I hope you can join us on the night for a drink and to meet the artist.

If you provide family relationship services (including under the Family Relationship Services Program) to separating or separated clients or you are a family law system professional providing services to these clients, we want to hear from you as part of our Review of the Family Relationship Services Program (FRSP).

This research will help us to understand the needs of separated and separating families.

To share your views, take the survey today.

If you have any problems accessing the survey, please email: FRSPreview@aifs.gov.au or call 1800 720 142.   

The Sentencing Advisory Council has released a new report investigating 'combined orders', which involve someone receiving both a term of imprisonment as well as a community correction order (CCO). The Council found that of 95,000 CCOs imposed in Victoria in the 9 years from 2012 to 2021, over 18,000 of them were imposed alongside a term of imprisonment (19%). 

Other key findings in the report include: 

• there has been a significant increase in the use of combined orders, with about 3,000 combined orders now being imposed each year, 
• most combined orders were imposed on males (90%),
• many combined orders were imposed in cases involving family violence offending (42%),
• about half of all combined orders in the Magistrates' Court now involve a time served prison sentence with no further time to serve after sentencing (49% in 2020); 
• combined order CCOs had much higher rates of supervision and treatment, whereas CCOs imposed without a term of imprisonment involved much higher rates of unpaid community work.

To download the report, click here.

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 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  

Further information and registration

Join the Australian Academy of Science and the Australian Academy of Law fortheir annual symposium in 2023. This year, three public lectures will be delivered by Dame Julie Maxton DBE, Executive Director of the Royal Society in London. These events will be held in Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne.

Click here for more information and to register.

Dispute Resolution: The Media Challenge

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

CBI Constructors Pty Ltd v Chevron Australia Pty Ltd: A Cautionary Tale

Wednesday, 22 November 2023 | 5:00pm – 6:00pm AEDT | Online with Nick Hopkins KC, Jeff Gleeson KC, Tim Owen, and John Rowland KC

A must attend event from Resolution Institute, this presentation and panel discussion will feature an exploration and discussion of the procedural and substantive issues of the case by a panel of experienced arbitration practitioners which includes senior and junior counsel who assumed conduct of the proceeding before the WA Supreme Court.

The panel discussion will be focused on the practical learnings resulting from the decisions which provide a cautionary tale for both parties and tribunals.

This panel discussion is for all arbitration practitioners.

Register here.