Bar Council business for June – July 2008

08/08/2008

Matters reported elsewhere in In Brief are omitted from this summary of Bar Council business. Bar Council regularly considers requests by the attorney general, the courts and other agencies for advice on proposed legislation. Because that advice is sought on a confidential basis, it is not noted in this summary. Any member interested in a particular matter should contact the executive director for further information.

Amendment to New South Wales Barristers’ Rules

The president reported that the change to the Rules concerning cross-examination had been gazetted.� The Bar will be advised that the change will commence on 1 July 2008 by way of an insert with their practicing certificates.� Seminars on the changes would be conducted in the next few months.� Consideration was being given to those seminars including ‘model’ cross examinations.

Mark McFadden

The junior vice-president represented the Bar at the funeral for Mark McFadden on 12 June.� The president, once again, expressed her and the council’s sadness and sympathy for McFadden’s family and colleagues.

Retirement of the Hon Justice Keith Mason AC, president of the Court of Appeal, Friday 30 May 2008

The president advised that she had spoken at the farewell ceremony for the Honourable Justice Keith Mason AC, president of the Court of Appeal.

Swearing-in ceremony for the Hon Justice James Allsop, president of the Court of Appeal, Monday 2 June 1008

The president advised that she and many of the Bar had attended the swearing-in ceremony for Justice Allsop as president of the Court of Appeal.� The attorney general had spoken on behalf of the Bar.

Swearing-in ceremony for his Honour Judge Michael King SC, District Court, 17 June 2008

The president advised that she had spoken at the swearing-in ceremony for his honour Judge Michael King SC.

Federal Criminal Law Conference, Friday 5 September 2008

The Bar Association, in conjunction with the Law Council of Australia, will be hosting the Federal Criminal Law Conference at the Hilton Hotel on Friday, 5 September.� Speakers would include Associate Professor Jeremy Gans, University of Melbourne; Stephen Odgers SC and Tim Game SC, NSW Bar;� Stephen Keim SC, Queensland Bar; Dr Andrew Lynch, UNSW;� the Hon Justice Mark Weinberg Victorian Court of Criminal Appeal;� and Jonathan Wells QC, SA Bar. The president and Ross Ray QC, president of the Law Council of Australia and the president would open / close the conference.� The conference dinner�will be held at Est, with the Hon Bob Debus MP, minister for home affairs, being the guest speaker.

15 Bobber – Justice Lucy McCallum and judge Paul Lakatos SC

The president noted that a large number of the Bar had attended the ‘15 Bobber’ held for the Hon Justice Lucy McCallum and his Honour Paul Lakatos SC on 23 May 2008.

Law Council of Australia meeting

The president advised that she and the executive director attended the meeting of directors of the Law Council of Australia held in Darwin on 14 and 15 June 2008. The president noted that at the meeting the Law Council formally expressed its support in principle for a federal Charter of Rights.� The Human Rights Committee was preparing a paper on this issue for the Bar Council’s consideration.

The draft minutes of that meeting would be forwarded to Bar councillors as soon as they were available.

Queensland Bench and Bar Dinner

On Wednesday 18 June the president and executive director attended the Queensland Bench and Bar Dinner. The president reported that it was an enjoyable evening; there was a close relationship with the Queensland Bar, due mainly to the work in recent years of former presidents Harrison SC and Slattery QC and the executive director.

UNIFEM/IDP Peace Scholarship

The president advised that women silks would be hosting a fundraising cocktail party to support Afghan women lawyers through the UNIFEM/IDP Peace Scholarship program at the Sky Room at the Blacket Hotel on King Street, Sydney on Wednesday 6.30pm, 25 June.� She encouraged Bar councillors to attend and to donate to the cause.

Work injury damages

The director, law reform and public affairs, spoke to the memorandum and advised that the Common Law Committee had considered the request made by the Bar Council on 18 October 2007.� The committee recommended that in order to overcome the effect of the judgment in Corbett, clause 91 of the Workers’ Compensation Regulation 2003 be amended to provide that each party bears their own costs, subject to a general discretion of the part of the court in an exceptional case and /or for the avoidance of substantial injustice.

The Bar Council resolved that the Common Law Committee, in consultation with Hayden Kelly SC, draft a letter to the attorney general requesting that clause 91 of the Workers’ Compensation Regulation 2003 be amended to read, ‘Except as provided by the sub-division, the parties to court proceedings for work injury damages are to bear their own costs.� However, the court may make an order that departs from the provisions of this sub-division for the avoidance of substantial injustice.’

Working Party on the Bar and the Community

The chair of the working party, Cunneen SC, spoke to the report.� She advised that the working party had been looking at two projects – a schools program and a media strategy.

Schools program

The objective of the schools program is to provide speakers about barristers and the law to public primary schools, particularly in disadvantaged areas where students are less likely to be in contact with people in the profession.� The chair has been liaising with Karen Conte-Mills (a current reader and former school principal) to develop the strategy and determine how the project could fit within the current school curriculum.� A number of schools have already shown their interest.

A pilot would be conducted to help determine interest in the program and possible workload problems.

The Bar Council agreed that the president write to the director general of the Department of Education, Mr Michael Coutts-Trotter, seeking a meeting to discuss the project.�

The working party will report back to the Bar Council on progress before the program is implemented.

Media program

The chair advised that the working party had been discussing strategies to obtain positive publicity for work undertaken by barristers.�� She had been in discussion with the Daily Telegraph about this issue.

The Bar Council supported a media program, provided that the barristers give their permission for their stories to be publicised.

Andrew Haesler SC

The president welcomed Andrew Haesler SC to the Bar Council.� Haesler has, pursuant to clause 12.5.1 of the Bar Association’s Constitution, replaced Perram SC, who on 30 June resigned from the Bar Council on being appointed to the Federal Court of Australia as of 8 August 2008.

Clause 11 of the Senior Counsel Protocol

The president spoke to her memorandum and explained that clause 11 of the Senior Counsel Protocol currently states:

Each year, _and before applications for appointment are received, the Selection Committee, shall, by invitation, chose at least thirty senior counsel (queen’s counsel or senior counsel), at least ten junior counsel, and at least thirty solicitors specialising and experienced in the conduct of litigation (the ‘Consultation Group’) for the purpose of mandatory consultation with the profession for the selection of appointees. The Consultation Group shall include at least a third of members of the previous year’s Consultation Group (emphasis added)._

However, the Silk Selection Committee would not finalise the membership of the Consultation Group until all the applications have been received.� The purpose of this is to ensure that the Consultation Group includes members who cover all the practice areas of the applicants.

The Bar Council resolved that clause 11 be amended so as to delete the underlined words and to read:

Each year the Selection Committee shall, by invitation, chose at least thirty senior counsel (queen’s counsel or senior counsel), at least ten junior counsel, and at least thirty solicitors specialising and experienced in the conduct of litigation (the ‘Consultation Group’) for the purpose of mandatory consultation with the profession for the selection of appointees. The Consultation Group shall include at least a third of members of the previous year’s Consultation Group.

Silk Selection Committee

The president advised that Lindsay Foster SC had been appointed to the Federal Court, with his swearing in to take place on Thursday, 4 September 2008.

As his appointment takes place in the middle of the deliberations of the Silk Selection Committee it was not feasible for him to remain a member.

The president informed the Bar Council that she had asked Tony Meagher SC whether he would be available to join the committee.� He indicated that he would be happy to do so.

The Bar Council endorsed the appointment of Tony Meagher SC to the Silk Selection Committee. . Court fees

The president advised that she would be writing to the attorney general asking that he increase fees paid by the state to counsel by 4.85 per cent, the amount court fees are to be increased as of 1 July 2008.

Mr Nye Perram SC

At the conclusion of the meeting Perram SC joined the Bar Council to celebrate his appointment to the Federal Court of Australia.� The president, and the Bar Council, thanked Perram for the contribution he had made to the work of the Bar Council, and for the Bar Association more generally, over a number of years.

8 August 2008

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