Inbrief

The Bar Knit Group next meets on 26 February

Wellbeing

The Bar Knit Group meets on the 4th Wednesday of every month in the Bar Library. The first meeting for 2014 will be held on Wednesday 26 February. The group is not affiliated with the...

Public Defenders Practical Advocacy Course for Under 5s practising in Criminal Law

The Public Defenders are seeking expressions of interest from NSW barristers of five years and under to participate in a practical advocacy training course for criminal lawyers. The course consists...

Reserve a place in the Bar Association's childcare scheme

Member services and benefits

There are still vacancies in the Bar Association's childcare scheme. Under an agreement reached with Jigsaw Corporate Childcare in December last year, ten places at...

Childcare for Bar Association members

Member services and benefits

The Bar Council is pleased to announce that it has approved a proposal from the Equal Opportunity Committee to reserve places at a child care centre in the Sydney CBD...

Productivity Commission report on the justice system

The Productivity Commmission has today released its annual Report on Government Services (Volume C: Justice). ROGS provides information on the equity, effectiveness and efficiency of government...

Parliamentary Research Service e-brief on mandatory sentencing

The NSW Parliamentary Research Service has published e-brief 1/2014: Mandatory Sentencing Laws. It's not an exposition of the legal principles of sentencing. Rather, it's designed to provide members...

NSW AG launches NCAT

Attorney General Greg Smith SC today officially opened the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT), declaring it would improve access to justice. NCAT has assumed the workload of 22 specialist...

Anglican Law Term Church Service

The Most Reverend Dr Glenn Davies, Archbishop of Sydney, and the Reverend Andrew Sempell, Rector of St James, invite members to attend the 2014 Law Term Church Service at St James€™ Anglican...

Church services for the opening of the 2014 Law Term

Red Mass

The 2014 Red Mass will be held in St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney at **9.00am on Monday, 3 February 2014. **The Mass will be celebrated by his Eminence Cardinal George Pell AC. Judges and...

There was movement of the chambers

Martin Place Chambers has relocated to the 32nd floor of 52 Martin Place.

ALA State Conference

The Australian Lawyers Alliance will hold its NSW State Conference on 20-21 March 2014 at the Mercure Resort, Hunter Valley Gardens. For more information about the program, or to register, visit the...

Appointment to the Local Court of New South Wales

Attorney General Greg Smith SC announced today the appointment of Crown Prosecutor David Williams as a magistrate of the Local Court of NSW and an industrial magistrate. Mr Williams will be sworn in...

Australia Day Honours

Former shadow attorney general of NSW and member of the Bar Association, Mr Andrew Tink, was made a member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his "significant service to the Parliament of New South...

Mandatory one punch laws not the solution

Law reform and public affairs

President Phil Boulten SC has issued a media release warning that the NSW Government's proposed mandatory eight year minimum sentences for "coward punch" assaults...

The new In Brief

Welcome to In Brief, the new format for the Bar Association's regular e-mail circulars to all members and clerks. In Brief will keep you up to date with news of appointments to the Bench, social...

New South Wales Bar welcomes progress towards a national legal profession

Today's announcement of an Intergovernmental Agreement on a Legal Profession Uniform Framework by the NSW and Victorian governments has been welcomed by the president of the New South Wales Bar...

Boulten SC: This is not a way to run a justice system

Law reform and public affairs

President Phil Boulten SC hit the airwaves following Premier Barry O'Farrell announced that mandatory minimum sentences would be included in a raft of measures to curb...

Bar Association mandatory sentencing briefing papers for MPs and media

Law reform and public affairs

Following the NSW Government’s recent announcement of mandatory minimum sentences for “one punch” assaults, President Phil Boulten SC has prepared a background...

Biometric identification

The Department of Corrective Services has responded to a number of the Association’s queries in relation to Biometric Identification. The following is a summary of the information provided by...

Rake returns

In case any members need to be reminded, Rake Series 3 begins Sunday, 9 February at 8.30pm. Cleaver Greene languishes in prison surrounded by enemies - Cal McGregor, Col and the Corella brothers, but...

Bar Association's childcare scheme is in the news

Member services and benefits

Today's Legal Affairs section of The Australian features an article on the Bar Association's agreement with Jigsaw Corporate Childcare to reserve places at their new...

Oversight of critical police incidents

NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell yesterday released the Report of the Review of the Oversight of Police Critical Incidents conducted by former federal attorney general the Hon Robert McClelland. The...

DNA For Legal Practitioners (ADVERTISEMENT)

Do you engage DNA experts? Do you understand DNA reports? Do you examine or cross examine DNA experts? Then you need to attend one or more of these sessions, presented by experienced forensic DNA...

Speaking up for our system of justice

Only rarely do politicians speak out in support of the judiciary, but during a speech about the visit by Aung San Suu Kyi to Sydney, Mark Speakman SC MP, the member for Cronulla, delivered a forceful...

NCAT health practitioner proceedings meeting

The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) began operations on 1 January 2014. To facilitate the transition of Health Profession Tribunal matters into NCAT, a "liaison group" with...