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In Brief Issue #862
27Apr
Victorian Bar Foundation Student Achievement Awards
Avid readers of In Brief (you know who you are) will recall that, last month, the Victorian Bar Foundation, partnering with the City of Hume, recognised the top performers in year 11 Legal Studies from 16 schools in the Hume City Council area, which spans a large sweep of northern Melbourne, including Broadmeadows, Craigieburn and Sunbury. Sixteen winners were awarded a cash prize of $1,500, and a total of 48 students have been offered a personal mentoring opportunity with members of counsel, to assist them in assessing a possible future career at the Victorian Bar. Tonight, all winners, and their mentors, will be attending an exclusive performance at the Melbourne Recital Centre where, in addition to the musical program, they will hear from the Foundation’s Patron, the Hon Justice Michelle Gordon.
This year’s winners are:
- Aleyna Ulku, Aitken College
- Kalia Vang, Craigieburn Secondary College
- Rayan Ghajraoui, Gladstone Park Secondary College
- Amelie Theuma, Hume Anglican Grammar
- Daniel Standaar, Hume Central Secondary College - Senior Campus 10-12
- Easha Nasir, Ilim College - Girls Campus
- Marie Petrolo, Kolbe Catholic College
- Sanya Aggarwal, Mount Ridley College
- Thomas Morrison, Penola Catholic College
- Olivia Vertsonis, Roxburgh College - Roxburgh Park Campus
- Jack Scholes, Salesian College - Rupertswood Campus
- Mahmoud Kashoa, Sirius College Meadow Fair Campus
- Teresa Moshie, St.Mary's Coptic Orthodox College
- Vanessa White, Sunbury College
- Amelia Brydson, Sunbury Downs College
The winners represent a diverse cross-section of the community. Please make them welcome when you see them around chambers in coming weeks as they are mentored by our members
Barristers' Consortium
On Monday evening, my partner and I hosted the launch of the Barristers’ Consortium—an exciting initiative bringing together members of the Victorian Bar and the Melbourne International Festival of the Arts. The Festival’s Artistic Director, Jonathan Holloway, explained that the aim of the consortium is to provide a forum for barristers to contribute to civic discourse by supporting the Festival. In an inspiring speech, he showed how, with enough support, barristers could bring challenging and transformational works to Melbourne, and reinforce Melbourne’s position as one of the world’s most influential creative cities. The level of support from our members at the launch was, itself, inspiring. For more information and to join the consortium by making a tax-deductible donation, download this form or visit the Melbourne Festival site.
Welcomes and Farewells
Congratulations go this week to Melinda Richards SC, Crown Counsel for the State of Victoria, on her appointment as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria. The profession will extend a welcome at a ceremonial sitting of the Supreme Court on Thursday 10 May at 9.15am.
Congratulations also to the Honourable Justice Michelle Quigley, who has been appointed President of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. Justice Quigley was appointed to the Supreme Court in December last year. Her Honour had practised as a barrister for nearly 30 years, including 15 years as Senior Counsel. Her Honour is the first woman to lead VCAT in its 21 year history.
I wish them both many years of satisfaction in service to the law in their new positions.
There are also two forthcoming farewells to add to your diaries: Justice Peter Vickery will be farewelled by the profession at 5pm on 8 May 2018; and Justice Mark Weinberg AO will be farewelled by the profession at 5pm on 9 May 2018. Both farewells will be in the Banco Court.
Crown Counsel
With Justice Richards’ appointment, there is a vacancy in the role of Crown Counsel for the State of Victoria. For those who may be interested in applying for the position, further information is available here.
Lots going on…
One of the most rewarding aspects of being President is working together with others, pretty much every day, on projects to improve the standing of the Bar and opportunities for and the welfare of our members. All positions on Bar Council, its committees and working groups are voluntary, but such is the spirit of collegiality at the Bar that we are never short of members willing to lend their skills, experience and valuable time. The fact that 48 of our members have volunteered to be mentors to the winners of the Victorian Bar Foundation Student Achievement Awards is one example.
I was again reminded of the spirit of our members bright and early on Monday morning when, with some of my Bar Council colleagues, I reviewed the extraordinary number of exceptionally high quality expressions of interest received in response to the recent call for Bar Conciliators. Bar Conciliators will perform a vital role in providing advice to members and conciliating grievances under the Bar’s three new conduct policies. I thank all those who applied and regret that there can only be a limited number of opportunities. Appointments will be made by the Bar Council, likely at its meeting next Thursday.
The CPD event to introduce the new conduct policies, and report to members generally on issues of sexual harassment, discrimination and bullying, has been rescheduled for 7 May at 5.30pm
Victorian Legal Services Board Elections 2018 reminder
Time is running out to vote for the election of the barrister member of the Victorian Legal Services Board. There are three outstanding candidates: Jennifer Batrouney QC, Jason Harkess and Lisa Nichols QC. Statements by the candidates are available here. Voting closes on 9 May.
The deadline for renewing your PC without incurring a surcharge is 30 April 2018.
The LPLC requires payment of the professional indemnity insurance (PII) premium by 31 May 2018.
You should have received an email from the Legal Services Board (LSB) outlining details of the PC and PII renewal process. (Information is also provided on the Bar’s website).
Links for online lodgement are available through your member home page or you may go directly to LSB Online and LPLC website. Login to LSB Online and LPLC renewal using your Practitioner Number as the username (your Practitioner Number is published in the email sent to you by the LSB or you can contact the Bar Office for assistance). If you experience technical difficulties, please contact the LSB Online help desk by email online@lsbc.vic.gov.au in the first instance.
The LSB Online service deals with all PC administrative matters. There is no printed PC renewal form. Should you require assistance renewing your PC, the Victorian Bar Office can help you to access and use LSB Online, members who wish to attend the Bar office for assistance please do so between 9am - 3pm or contact Daphne Ioannidis on 9225 8326 to make an appointment.
The forms for LPLC Applicant Declaration (PII) are now available from the LPLC’s website or from the Victorian Bar Office on Level 5 205 William Street, however, practitioners are encouraged to renew online.
Optional Top Up insurance for barristers is available through Affinity Brokers. Inquiries to Affinity should be directed to Mary Spanos on (03)8587 7760 or mspanos@affinity.com.au.
Links to the application form and other relevant documents:
Register online for Bar Dinner
The most efficient way to organise your table for the Bar Dinner on 25 May is to click here to register online (please note that this event is for Victorian Bar members only). Using the online form, you can book your tickets as an individual guest, as a guest on an organised table, or as a table organiser.
Following on from the huge success that was our London 2016 conference, we are thrilled to announce that the 2018 will be held on Friday the 21 and Saturday the 22 of September, 2018 on Hong Kong island. It is a must-attend event for any barrister, solicitor, or corporate counsel. Tickets will be sold from May 1st https://www.vicbar.com.au/news-events
A by-election for the vacant position of Lord Mayor will be held in May 2018. It will be conducted entirely by postal voting, with ballot packs mailed to voters between Monday 23 April and Thursday 26 April.
Voting is compulsory for all voters listed on the Melbourne City Council voters roll at 4.00 pm on Friday 16 March 2018.
When you receive your ballot pack you must complete your ballot paper, and return it as soon as possible using the reply paid envelope.
Alternatively, you may hand-deliver your completed ballot material to the election office by 6.00 pm on Friday 11 May 2018.
Completed ballot material must be posted – or in the hands of the Returning Officer – by 6.00 pm on Friday 11 May 2018, when voting closes. Ballot material posted after this date cannot be accepted and you may incur a fine.
Click here for more information.
Flu shots will be available for members on Monday 28 May 2018.
Booking and location details to follow.
We are pleased to advise that planning is underway for the next Junior Bar Conference for 1 June 2018 in the Neil McPhee Room.
Due to popular demand, this year we are increasing the range and inviting barristers who have practiced for up to 10 years.
An exciting program is currently under development. More information and invitations will follow soon.
Please save the date and mark this in your calendar.
Upcoming CPD events:
You must be a member of the Victorian Bar and logged into the VicBar website to view the following events.
- Bail Law Reform
- Constitutional Highlights
- Resource Capital Fund IV LP v Commissioner of Taxation
- Achieving Gender Equality
- Information Session on the Bar's New Conduct Policies and Procedures
- Movie Review Seminar: Face to Face
- Expert Evidence Workshop
- Good Mental Health for Criminal Barristers
- The Full Court Decision In Sandini: Tax Implications For Family Law Disputes & Rollover Provisions
- Recent Corporate Insolvency Reforms: Safe Harbour And Ipso Facto Clauses
- Junior Bar Conference
- Leave to Appeal Under Section 148 of the VCAT Act
- Lawyers Mediation Certificate course
The Art and Collections Committee invites Bar members to the opening of a retrospective exhibition of art by Ian Friend at the Essoign Club.
Friend's show of prints and paintings dates from 1985 to 2017. Some recent works are for sale. Friend is represented by Gallerysmith in North Melbourne and Andrew Baker in Brisbane.
Ian Friend is an English born abstract artist who has lived in Australia since the mid 1980s. His works hang in the Tate Gallery, the National Galleries in Canberra and Melbourne and in many other public and private collections.
The exhibition opened on Friday 13 April will run for six weeks.
The Essoign has Drinks specials and Bar snacks every day from 4pm
Come in and enjoy!
Art Exhibition at Level 11 Owen Dixon Chambers East (aka Studio 11). Barristers on Level 11 of ODC East invite you to come view solo art exhibition by Melbourne Artist, Claire Lefebvre, "Lush. Layer Light", featuring some 20 works, comprising a series of paintings and limited edition prints which use layering techniques and mark making such as dots and lines. The works explore human emotion and perception as well as the material potential of acrylic paint, ink and various gloss and matte mediums. The paintings allude to architectural and biological forms, with surfaces which invite touch.
The exhibition runs from 16 April - 29 June. The works are for sale with no commission payable. Worksheets are found on level 11 East. Come up, have a break and just admire the work which is there to be enjoyed and shared.
"Studio 11" as it is colloquially referred to hosts art exhibitions on a term by term, voluntary basis. The aim is to allow all members of the Victorian Bar, colleagues, clients, staff, family and friends to easily access, enjoy and celebrate various original art by local artists in the work environment.
A Bernstein Collection – Guest conductor Jose Luis Gomez’s program celebrates the music of American goliath Leonard Bernstein and his close colleagues Aaron Copland and Samuel Barber.
Labor Lawyers invite you to a function with guest speaker Mark Dreyfus, Federal Shadow Attorney General:
6 pm on Thursday 3 May 2018.
Slate Restaurant and Bar, 9 Goldsborough Lane (mezzanine level) Melbourne (Entry up the ramp of the CGU building on corner of Little Bourke Street and William Street).
Entry includes finger food. Drinks at bar prices.s.
Prices are as follows:
Non-members $60
Members $40
Membership plus entry $55
Trainees, first to fourth year solicitors and first year barristers $20
Law students and Leo Cussen students $10
CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR TICKETS.
The function will be preceded by the Labor Lawyers Society of Victoria AGM at 5.15pm at the same venue.
Please find attached notice of AGM
We look forward to seeing you at the function and/or the AGM. If you are unable to attend but wish to renew your membership, please click this link.
Check out this year’s HRAFF program featuring a stellar line up of films, art, talks and performances, including Opening Night Film, After the Apology (3 May), Matthew Sleeth’s film Guilty (4 May) about Muyuran Sukumaran’s last 72 hours and World Premier of Border Politics (12 May) featuring Julian Burnside QC. Visit www.hraff.org.au for more info and tickets.
See the stories that matter.
The Monash University Law Students’ Society (LSS) warmly invites you to take part in its upcoming 2018 Juris Doctor (JD) Moot Competition.
The Moot requires participants to advocate on behalf of a client through written and oral submissions. Each moot involves two opposing teams (comprising of two to three students each) who act as barristers (or an additional solicitor in the instance of a team of three) for their respective client. Each team is provided with a mock appeal scenario that requires the teams to address legal issues before a judge. It is the competitors’ responsibility to try to persuade the court as to the legitimacy of their legal arguments. Teams are assessed on how sound their legal arguments (both written and oral) are, the level of their advocacy skills, and their professional manner.
We are currently requesting judges for the following sessions:
Preliminary Rounds:
Monday 14 May 2018 for the 2:30pm and 6:00pm fixtures;
Thursday 17 May 2018 for the 11:30am and 2:30pm fixtures; and
Semi-final Round:
Monday 21 May 2018 for the 6:00pm fixture
We are also looking for guest speakers for a pre-competition ‘How to: Moot’ workshop for LSS members. This will take place: Monday 30 April 2018 at 6:00pm
The preliminary and semi-final rounds will take place at the Monash University Law Chambers at 555 Lonsdale St, Melbourne.
We invite you to please follow this link to record your preference as to which dates you would be interested to judge this competition. We encourage judges to participate in multiple sessions.
If you are unable to participate as a judge or guest speaker for the JD Moot, the LSS Competition Portfolios will be hosting other competitions throughout the year. You can find further details of each by visiting the LSS (JD) Competitions webpage and the LSS (LLB) Competitions webpage.
Should you require any further information, please contact Chad Drever, JD Competitions Director, on 0401 039 351 or at jd.competitions@monashlss.com.
Throughout April and May the Court of Appeal will be hosting two-part practical appellate advocacy workshops for both criminal and civil areas of law. In these free workshops, Judges of Appeal, together with members of the Victorian Bar, will demonstrate appellate advocacy in action. Learn what works (and what does not), how to make it work for you and how to develop your own appellate practice. These workshops are primarily aimed at barristers or solicitors practising or wishing to practise in the Court of Appeal.
Click here for more information.
The Federal Court of Australia, together with the IFA Australian branch and the Melbourne Law School, invites you to a Tax Workshop on Monday 30 April 2018.
Maritime Order in the Indian Ocean
Application of UNCLOS and other legal norms in the context of emerging challenges and opportunities
Monday 30 April and Tuesday 1 May 2018
Deakin Downtown, Collins Square, 727 Collins Street, Melbourne
Deakin Law School's Centre on the Legal Profession invites you to attend a conference and workshop on Maritime Order in the Indian Ocean.
This is a specialist conference intended to examine ways to reinforce the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and also identify and address issues that have arisen post-UNCLOS and so currently fall outside its framework.
The program will feature two keynote presenters Professor Donald Rothwell of ANU College of Law and Professor Steven Haines of the University of Greenwich.
This conference will be held in Melbourne and is the first of three events which will culminate in the drafting of a Code of Conduct for the Indian Ocean.
For conference details and to register, see the Deakin Law School website.
Thursday 3 May, 1.15pm-1.40pm
The Law Library of Victoria invites you to attend our Switch On… information sessions. These twenty-five minute sessions are suited to judicial officers, court staff, legal professionals, law students, and anyone with an interest in law.
JADE is a freemium Australian current awareness service and legal research platform designed to make it easier to find, use, share and present accurate legal information. This session will enable you to perform faster-than-normal complex searches to identify case law, legislative points and keypoints in authorities.
All are welcome and entry is free. To RSVP please email libraryevents@supcourt.vic.gov.au
Competition Law Conference 2018
This annual one-day Conference will be held in Sydney on Saturday 5 May 2018 at the Sheraton on the Park Hotel, Sydney.
The Conference, which has been held since 1989, continues to attract about 100 registrants, including Federal Court Judges, Judges from New Zealand, regulators from Australia and New Zealand, lawyers from both Australia and New Zealand, economists and academics.
The Hon. Justice Lindsay Foster will address the conference as the Keynote Speaker on the topic: “Concerted Practices; A Contravention without a definition”
Venue: Sheraton on the Park, Sydney
Date: Saturday 5 May 2018
Time: 9.15 am to 4.30 pm (registration opens at 8.45am)
CPD Strand: Substantive Law, Practice & Procedure
CPD Points: 5 (one point per hour excluding breaks)
For further details, and to download the full programme and registration form, please follow this link or email chrishodgekiss@bigpond.com
The Panel
Join the new Legal Services Commissioner and a panel of lawyers drawn from small to medium private, government and in-house practice as they discuss and debate the challenges to the sustainability of legal practice in the 21st Century.
Expert Panellists
Fiona McLeay, Victorian Legal Services Commissioner
Peter Moran, Principal, Peer Legal
Adrian Shavitsky, Director,Commercial Law, Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport & Resources
Tarryn Billings, Senior Corporate Solicitor, Royal Automobile Club of Victoria
DATE: Tuesday 15 May, 2018
TIME: 7.45am – 8.45am (7.15am light breakfast served)
VENUE: Monash Law Chambers, 555 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne
RSVP: Wednesday 9 May Click HERE
Click here for more information and to register for this event.
Topic: Decoding Privacy Protection in Australia: Future Directions and Challenges
Speakers: Professor David Watts (former Victorian Privacy Commissioner) and Dr Bridget Bainbridge (privacy by design expert)
Location: La Trobe University, City Campus, 360 Collins Street, Level 2, Room 2.15, Melbourne, VIC 3000
Date & time: Wed. 16 May 2018, 12:30 pm – 2:00 pm AEST
Registration and further information: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/decoding-privacy-protection-in-australia-future-directions-and-challenges-tickets-44578171511
What is parole and its purpose?
Wednesday, 16 May 2018
4.30pm – 5.30pm followed by refreshments
Deakin University, Geelong Waterfront Campus, 1 Gheringhap Street
What is the parole process, and what myths surround parole? Hear from His Honour Peter Couzens, Chairperson of the Adult Parole Board, as he visits Geelong to speak with the local community about parole and the Board during Law Week.
His Honour Peter Couzens will explain the parole process and challenge some of the myths around parole and the Board.
This session is open to anyone who wants to learn more about parole. At its conclusion, Deakin Law School has organised refreshments so that the audience has the opportunity to speak with His Honour Peter Couzens and senior Board staff.
This is a free information session, however registration is essential.
The Stated Purposes Canon
Friday, 18 May 2018
12.15pm (light lunch) with the seminar commencing at 1.00pm
Deakin Downtown, Collins Square, 727 Collins Street, Melbourne
Deakin Law School, in conjunction with the Statutes and Governance Project* invites you to a seminar on The Stated Purposes Canon with Professor Kevin Stack, the Lee S. and Charles A. Speir Chair in Law at the Vanderbilt University Law School in the United States.
The purpose of this seminar is to defend the stated purposes canon—and seeks to prompt a conversation on its role in both statutory interpretation and the role of enacted purposes in statutory design.
*The Statutes and Governance Project is a collaborative research project involving public law and legislation scholars from the Deakin Law School, the Monash University Faculty of Law and the Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law at the University of New South Wales.
This is a free seminar however, registration is essential. See the Deakin Law School newsroom to register
Topic: Child abuse litigation – a legal revolution
Speaker: Alan Collins
Location: La Trobe University, Bundoora Campus, Social Sciences building, level 2, room SS232 (Moot Court)
Date & time: Friday 18 May 2018, 12noon – 1pm
Registration and further details: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/child-abuse-litigation-a-legal-revolution-tickets-45191523062
Fast track your way to a career in international commercial arbitration. Registrations are now open for the 2018 CIArb Accelerated Route Towards Fellowship (ARF) course which will be held from 19 - 20 May 2018 at the Melbourne Commercial Arbitration and Mediation Centre. Delivered by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) this course is intended for suitably qualified candidates who are practising lawyers with at least 10 years’ standing and who have experience in arbitration. The Course syllabus is based on international arbitration law and it is essential that candidates have at least a reasonable working knowledge of the UNCITRAL Model Law and UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules. CIArb accreditation carries a global qualification in the growing practice of international arbitration. Places are limited. For further details and to register please click here.
What will 2050's court system look like? Will technological advances merely create the need for new laws or do they present a threat to the rule of law? Does the legal profession still have a future? And if so, what is it? How do "lawyerbots" actually work? And do videolink hearings represent the future of the court system or a breakdown of the division between court and prison?
These are just a few of the questions to be raised at “Forces of Change: Defining Future Justice”, the Australasian Institute of Judicial Administration’s next conference, 24 - 26 May at Brisbane’s Stamford Plaza Hotel.
The conference aims to conceptualise and visualise the shape of future justice and hold an in-depth conversation on the fundamental principles that underpin our concept of justice but may be challenged in a period of significant change and disruption.
The line-up of speakers contributing is an eclectic mix of judges, academics and tech-experts. It includes the Chief Justice of New Zealand, Dame Sian Elias, the High Court's Justice Michelle Gordon, Justice Helen Winkelmann from NZ’s Court of Appeal and Chief Judge Peter Kidd of the County Court. Other speakers will include Mr Murray Bruce, formerly with IBM’s AI platform "Watson", CSIRO IP expert Mr Rajiv Cabraal, lawyerbot inventors Mr Athol Birtley and Mr Adrian Cartland, and “blockchain” expert Dr Philippa Ryan, from the University of Technology, Sydney
Beginning with a keynote talk on "the world in the year 2050", the conference will feature an opening address on the experience of the use of technology in the legal system in England and Wales, by the Right Hon Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, the former Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales. This will be followed by a panel discussion chaired by Radio National’s The Law Report presenter Damien Carrick.
Subsequent sessions include: a hands-on introduction to lawyerbots and AI; a look at the new laws that will be required by new technologies; and a survey of the future mental health needs of judicial officers and court staff. To close, a session on "management of change" will challenge participants to identify their own views. Are you an "early adopter"? Or a "maintain the rager"? Come along and join the conversation.
See the program and register at http://www.futurejustice2018.com/
The age of technology and cyberspace has given rise to fascinating legal issues including in relation to privacy, big data, artificial intelligence and blockchain. Regulators are attempting to understand and keep up. This expert panel will consider some of the evolving issues that confront lawyers.
Date: Wednesday, 6 June 2018
Time: 5.15pm – 6.15pm
Venue: Court 8A, Federal Court of Australia, Owen Dixon Commonwealth Law Courts Building, 305 William Street, Melbourne
RSVP: Monday 4 June 2018, online at http://www.monash.edu/law/research/centres/clars
Click here to download the event flyer.
Date: 6 - 8 June 2018, Vientiane, Laos
Venue: Crowne Plaza Vientiane
Website: http://www.lawasia.asn.au/familylaw2018.html
Theme: ‘Family Law: Realities, Expectations and Hope’
Registration: Opening in February
Keynote Speaker: The Honourable John Pascoe AC CVO
The conference will focus on a range of cross border family law and children’ rights issues including:
- trafficking of the vulnerable;
- surrogacy and ethical challenges;
- impact of social media on family law;
- support for families and children in distress;
- effective negotiations and understanding the client, the lawyer and the child;
- technology in family law practice;
- International family law and Conventions;
- the protection of vulnerable members of the family;
- estrangement and alienation and future world – family law in the next decade.
Please visit the conference website to register and for more information on travel, accommodation and the conference program: http://www.lawasia.asn.au/familylaw2018.html
The 9th annual Family Law conference in Bali is to be held from 8 - 11 June at the Oberoi Hotel. This conference will include a session on negotiation which may be of interest to those who do not practice in family law, and attendees at this conference will be from the Northern Territory, New South Wales and Victoria.
Date: 11-13 July 2018
Venue: Melbourne Law School
From 11 - 13 July 2018, Melbourne Law School will hold the third biennial Public Law Conference, co-organised by the University of Melbourne and the University of Cambridge. The theme of the 2018 conference is ‘The Frontiers of Public Law’. The Public Law series is the pre-eminent regular forum for the discussion of public law matters in the common law world. The first two conferences in the series were held at Cambridge in 2014 and 2016. The 2018 conference will feature approximately 80 speakers, including leading judges, practitioners and scholars from across the common law world, and bring together over 300 delegates to discuss the most important issues in public law today. Keynote speakers include Lord Mance (UKSC), Hon Mr Kenneth Hayne (formerly HCA), Justice Debbie Mortimer (FCA), Sir Jack Beatson (English Court of Appeal), Justice Grant Huscroft (Ontario Court of Appeal), Justice Matthew Palmer (NZ High Court), Prof Cheryl Saunders (Melbourne), Prof David Feldman (Cambridge), Prof Anne Davies (Oxford), Prof Carol Harlow (LSE), Prof Mark Aronson (UNSW), Prof Anne Twomey (Sydney), Prof Benedict Kingsbury (NYU), and Prof Megan Davis (UNSW).
For further information and to register please visit our website: http://law.unimelb.edu.au/public-law-conference
Date: 17 - 20 July 2018
Venue: Melbourne Law School
From 17 - 20 July 2018, Melbourne Law School will host the 9th biennial Obligations Conference in conjunction with the Faculty of Law at the University of Oxford. The biennial Obligations Conferences bring together scholars and practitioners from throughout the common law world to discuss current issues in contract law, the law of torts, equity, and unjust enrichment. The Obligations Conference is the leading international forum for discussion of these subject areas. Approximately 90 presentations will be made over the three days of the conference, including keynote presentations by Professor Andrew Burrows (Oxford), the Hon Justice James Edelman (High Court of Australia), the Hon Justice Michelle Gordon (High Court of Australia), Professor Birke Häcker (Oxford), the Hon Justice Mark Leeming (NSW Court of Appeal), Professor Matthew Harding (Melbourne), and Professor Liam Murphy (NYU).
For further information and to register please visit our website: http://law.unimelb.edu.au/obligations9
The Victorian Government seeks expressions of interest in the position of Crown Counsel, initially for 12 months, with the possibility of extension.
Crown Counsel is a full time, public office created under the prerogative power of the Crown. Appointment as Crown Counsel is made by the Governor in Council.
A Victorian Crown Counsel provides legal advice to, and appears as counsel for, the (Victorian) Attorney-General and the Executive Government of Victoria. This may extend to:
- providing high-level legal advice to the Secretary, Department of Justice and Regulation and, by arrangement with the Attorney-General, the Premier, other Ministers, and other departments and agencies;
- appearing as counsel for the Secretary, Department of Justice and Regulation and, by arrangement with the Attorney-General, for the Premier, other Ministers, other departments and agencies, in courts, tribunals and inquiries,
- conducting reviews and investigations at the direction of the Attorney-General; and
- performing other related duties, as required by the Attorney-General.
Substantial experience as a senior member of the Australian legal profession, including advocacy in superior courts, is essential. Demonstrated expertise in legal practice in Victoria would be useful. Candidates must be aware of the need, and demonstrate capacity, to manage effectively any conflicts of interest that arise during their term in office.
Remuneration for the role may be subject to negotiation, but is typically equivalent to that for Victorian Public Service Executive Officers (band 2).
Expressions of interest, consisting of a brief covering letter and Curriculum Vitae (CV), should be submitted by 31 May 2018, either via email to: civillaw@justice.vic.gov.au or via post, to:
Mr Donald Speagle
Deputy Secretary, Civil Justice Department of Justice and Regulation 121 Exhibition Street
MELBOURNE VIC 3000
For further information, please ring Donald Speagle, Deputy Secretary, Civil Justice, Department of Justice and Regulation: (03) 8684 7825.
In 2018, the Victorian Construction & Infrastructure Committee of the Law Council of Australia will again award the Tom Yuncken Young Construction Lawyer Award, which was established in 2008 in memory of Allens Arthur Robinson partner and construction lawyer Tom Yuncken.
While previously a Victorian award, this is now a national award and open to all eligible Australian young construction lawyers.
Please see the attached flyer for details regarding eligibility, award criteria, award procedures, and the nomination process.
Nominations close on 28 April 2018.
Baxt Prize
The Baxt Prize honours the contribution of Professor Robert (‘Bob’) Baxt AO to business law in Australia. The 2018 Baxt Prize will be awarded for a research paper of outstanding quality dealing with any aspect of penalties in corporate and commercial regulation. The value of the Baxt Prize is $7500.00.
Click here to view the prize flyer.
Click here to download the application form.
Scholarship entries close at 5pm, 30 August 2018 AEST.
Forsyth Pose Scholarship
The Forsyth/Pose Scholarship is offered by the Business Law Section of the Law Council of Australia (BLS) for papers on a topic in the field of taxation law. It was offered for the first time in 2013 to commemorate leading taxation law practitioners Neil Forsyth QC and Kevin Pose. Both were
long-standing members of the BLS specialist Taxation Committee.
Click here to view the scholarship flyer.
Click here to download the application form.
Scholarship entries close at 5pm, 30 August 2018 AEST.
Gaire Blunt Scholarship
The Gaire Blunt Scholarship is offered by the Business Law Section of the Law Council of Australia (BLS) for papers on a topic in the field of competition law. First awarded in 2008, it commemorates Gaire Blunt, a leading competition law practitioner and a partner at Allen Allen & Hemsley (now Allens) from 1970 to 2005.
Click here to view the scholarship flyer.
Click here to download the application form.
Scholarship entries close at 5pm, 30 August 2018 AEST.
Santow Scholarship
The Santow Scholarship is offered by the Business Law Section of the Law Council of Australia (BLS) for papers on a topic in the field of corporations law. Offered for the first time in 2014, it commemorates the Hon Kim Santow AO, a former Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales and prior to that a leading corporations law practitioner at Freehills.
Click here to view the scholarship flyer.
Click here to download the application form.
Scholarship entries close at 5pm, 30 August 2018 AEST.
Property Law Second Semester 2018 in the school of Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT University.
Three hour day class. Teaching day negotiable.
Contact: Associate Dean Judith Callanan.
E: judith.callanan@rmit.edu.au
M: 0448 049 186
Each year, the International Bar Association (IBA) holds an Annual Conference, which attracts the participation of some 6000 lawyers from more than 100 jurisdictions. Scholarships are awarded to young lawyers who wish to participate at the Annual Conference, but may find it financially difficult to do so.
The 2018 scholarships are now OPEN.
Click here for more information.
The Australian Academy of Law is pleased to announce the offering of its Annual Essay Prize for 2018.
The Prize is open to anyone, wherever resident, who is studying or has studied legal subjects at a tertiary level, or who is working or has worked in a law based occupation. There is no limit by reference to the age or seniority or experience of, or position held by, a person who may submit an entry. Accordingly, judicial officers, legal practitioners, legal academics and law students are all eligible to submit an essay.
The amount of the Prize is $10,000.
The essay topic for the Prize in 2018 is as follows:
“Rights and freedoms under the Australian Constitution: what are they and do they meet the needs of contemporary Australian society?”
The deadline for the submission of an essay is 31 August 2018 and persons intending to submit an essay must notify the Academy of that intention in writing via the Academy’s website to be received by 30 June 2018. Both of these time limits are strictly observed, as the Rules Governing the Annual Essay Prize make clear.
Those Rules can be accessed on the Academy’s website: www.academyoflaw.org.au
Refer to the Academy’s website also for further information about notification of intention to enter and about the actual submission of an entry.
Registrations are now open for our June 6 day National Mediator Accreditation program scheduled in Melbourne. The program gives participants the opportunity to learn Conflict Transformation skills and receive their mediator training assessment as required by the National Mediator Accreditation System and upon successful assessment apply to become a Nationally Accredited Mediator.
Click on the below link for more information and to register.
National Mediator Accreditation Course
June 22 to 27 Melbourne
Visit our website www.cynglerconsulting.com for more information or join our mailing list to keep informed on courses that are coming up.
Deadline for the next issue:5pm, 3rd May 2018