News & Events | Victorian Bar

Latest News & Events

19Jul

In Brief

In Brief Issue #922

The President's Message will return on 2 August. Please see below for updated notices on events and opportunities for our members.

12Jul

In Brief

Greetings from Convergence, the ABA’s international conference in Singapore, where more than 200 delegates have gathered from all Australian bars – including a very healthy contingent from the Victorian Bar, the judiciary and the wider profession.

5Jul

In Brief

In Brief Issue #920

Happy Holidays

We are at the halfway mark for the court winter vacation. Whether you are having some well-earned rest or remain in chambers, take a moment to see what’s happening near you for NAIDOC Week 2019 (7-14 July). The theme for this year is “Voice. Treaty. Truth.”

28Jun

In Brief

In Brief Issue #919

I hope that as many members as possible are managing to get some time off during the courts’ winter recess over the next couple of weeks. For those who are taking a break, I wish you all a restful time with friends and family. By the time you read this, I will have commenced a few weeks’ leave, to be interrupted by the ABA Conference in Singapore the week after next. For those of you who are not taking a break, you have my sympathy and respect, please hold the fort.

21Jun

In Brief

In Brief Issue #918

Junior Bar Conference 2019

A full-day program for the Junior Bar Conference is underway in the Neil McPhee room today, with some excellent presentations canvassing advocacy fundamentals as well as important wellbeing sessions. A focus of the conference is how barristers can incorporate health and wellbeing into their lives by learning about resilience. There are also sessions on superannuation, technology and practice management.

14Jun

In Brief

In Brief Issue #917

Democracy triumphs – thank you for voting

Some terrific advocacy and plenty of good humour was on display at the Special General Meeting (SGM) of the Victorian Bar held on Wednesday evening. Members debated, for and against, the most comprehensive package of proposed reforms to the Constitution of the Bar in many years.

7Jun

In Brief

In Brief Issue #916

Special General Meeting of the Victorian Bar next week

A Special General Meeting (SGM) of the Victorian Bar Inc will take place next Wednesday, 12 June 2019 at 5pm in the Neil McPhee room.

At the SGM, we will vote on the most significant package of proposed Constitutional reforms put in many years. The proposed reforms are the result of exhaustive work and exhausting debate by the Bar Council over several terms, and are directed at building a stronger and better governed Bar.

31May

In Brief

In Brief Issue #915

Town Hall-style meeting on proposed reforms to the Constitution of the Victorian Bar

Yesterday we held a ‘town hall’ meeting to discuss proposed reforms to the Bar’s Constitution.

24May

In Brief

In Brief Issue #914

A memorable Bar Dinner

My inbox has been full all week of rave reviews about the annual Bar Dinner held last Friday, tempered by a couple of “constructive suggestions” for next year—the opposite of the usual response to any major Bar event.

17May

In Brief

In Brief Issue #913

Election results

In the only election that anyone has been following this week, congratulations go to Dr Suzanne McNicol QC, who was elected by our members, from a Melbourne Cup size field, to fill a casual vacancy in the senior category on Bar Council. The result was declared at our Bar Council meeting last night, after which Sue was warmly welcomed to her first meeting.