Report by the Equitable Briefing Working Party

01/09/2015

At its meetings on Thursday, 13 August 2015 and 27 August 2015 the Bar Council considered the report of the Equitable Briefing Working Party. The report has been provided by the Bar Association to the Law Council of Australia for consideration and consultation with its constituent bodies. It has also been provided to the Australian Bar Association for its consideration.

The working party was convened by the Bar Council in response to the Law Council of Australia’s National Attrition and Re-engagement Study Report. The working party included partners from top and mid-tier firms, in-house counsel, and representatives from the office of the attorney general, the Law Society and a number of Bar Association committees/sections. The report recommends amendment of the existing Law Council equitable briefing policy, the development of briefing targets, and more detailed reporting of briefing practices. The report of the working party can be viewed here.

Data from the National Attrition and Re-engagement Survey, the NSW Bar PC Renewal Survey and the recent WLA Career Intentions Survey stress that the legal profession is currently not sufficiently inclusive. An inclusive profession depends on the creation of conditions and cultures that enable both men and women to thrive. Giving instructing solicitors, and clients, access to the complete range of talent available at the bar is a commercial, social and economic imperative. Refinement of the existing policy is only one of a range of initiatives to promote access to a broad range of barristers with varying skill sets, expertise, experience and qualities. Creation of an inclusive profession will ensure that a career at the bar attracts the best lawyers, and will broaden the range of those seeking to come to, and stay at, the bar.

The Bar Association issued a media release today, announcing its release of the report by the Equitable Briefing Working Party.