Inbrief

Speakers include:

• The Honourable Justice Geoffrey Bellew, Supreme Court of NSW
• Elizabeth Wood, Deputy President, Workers Compensation Commission
• Dr Julian Parmegiani, Psychiatrist, Chambers Medical Specialists
• Tim Game SC, President, NSW Bar Association
• Andrew Morrison RFD SC, Barrister, Wardell Chambers
• Mark Robinson SC, Barrister, Maurice Byers Chambers
• Andrew Combe, Barrister, Third Floor Wentworth Chambers
• Adrian Coombes, Barrister, Second Floor Wentworth Chambers

Download the full program here - [2020 PI & Common Law Conference]

The conference will run from 9:00 am to 3.00 pm. Morning tea and a stand-up buffet lunch will be provided. For more details about the conference and the costs involved please click here

For any questions about CPD requirements, conferences or the general CPD program, please contact the Professional Development Department (9223 4919 or cpd@nswbar.asn.au).

We look forward to hearing from you and seeing you on the day.

Tony McAvoy SC, chair, First Nations Committee

Greenway Chambers is helping to launch the project by hosting a small fundraiser event in chambers on Tuesday 10 December at 5.30pm to raise awareness and to facilitate donations. Tony McAvoy SC from Frederick Jordan Chambers will attend in his capacity as Head of the NSW Bar Association’s First Nations Committee. Aunty Nancy from Bunjum will also join us.

To support this initiative please join us at Greenway Chambers, level 10, 99 Elizabeth Street on Tuesday 10 December from 5:30pm.

Please register here.

A broad coalition including the Law Council of Australia have opposed the Bill’s reintroduced and issued a statement warning the legislation to merger a specialist Family Court into a single generalist court will not alleviate the fundamental problems plaguing the family law system, including the risk of victims of family violence falling through the cracks. A copy of the media release is available here. The Shadow Attorney-General has also issued a statement, available here.

The Senate has referred the merger bills to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee for inquiry and report by November 2020. The Association’s position continues to be to oppose the merger and advocate for retaining a stand-alone, specialist Family Court 2.0. The Association’s submission to the 45th Parliament on the merger bills is available here.

**Please note, completion of the form does not imply that a place on the course is guaranteed. Places are extremely limited. Priority will be given to those barristers who have a demonstrated interest in the education programs of the NSW Bar Association.

Click here for more information and to view photos.

We had a near collision with a determined crew not wishing to yield despite our having commenced overtaking. They eventually gave way when two of our stroke side oars clashed with two of their bow side oars within about 20 metres of a narrow arch under one of the 11 bridges.

The Harpoons finished the race in a time of 32 minutes and 53 seconds. This time put us 4th in our division (Masters A to C division).

The race was exceptionally hard but its difficulty was matched by the row home after several hours of “festivities” on the banks at Hawthorn Rowing Club.

Funds raised for the Women’s and Girls’ Emergency Centre: $23,590.61

We may not have been the fastest crew at the Yarra but some of us used the occasion to raise funds for the Women’s and Girls’ Emergency Centre (WAGEC), a non-government, not-for-profit organisation which provides accommodation and support to women and children experiencing homelessness and family violence.

I am pleased to report the following:

1. Those who donated to WAGEC via my Every Day Hero page raised a total of $5,338.57 (https://give.everydayhero.com/au/rowing-against-domestic-violence). The majority of that is from or associated with the Sydney bar. It is great to see so many of the bar putting their oars in the water to help victims of domestic violence.

2. Three other members of my crew joined in the fundraising effort for WAGEC. Together we collected $16,512.61 (https://give.everydayhero.com/au/harpoons).

3. The employer of one of my crew members is matching certain donations resulting in direct donations of $7,078.

4. Accordingly, we have collectively raised at least $23,590.61 for WAGEC. (I say at least because I am aware that some donated directly to WAGEC by its “Give now” page.).

As funds started to roll in, we received this very uplifting feedback from the CEO of WAGEC, Helen Silvia: https://youtu.be/FhCSCezOnOo

After the race, WAGEC sent the attached note of thanks for me to pass on to all those who donated.

Thanks so much for your generosity and for reading about WAGEC. More detail on WAGEC can be found here: https://www.wagec.org.au/

With best wishes for the holidays and the new year David Rayment

Clause 9 of the Professional Standards Regulation 2014 sets out the prescribed disclosure statement to be used, i.e. "Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation". The statement must be printed on a size not less than the face measurement of Times New Roman typeface in 8 point.

Ninety-nine percent (216) of members responded: in 162 instances (74.31%), the wording was fully compliant, while another 47 (21.56%) required a very minor typographical or grammatical correction. There were zero instances of non-compliance. The balance of respondents were unable to complete the audit because they had ceased practising, had a pressing health problem or were absent from chambers.

All barristers who hold a NSW practising certificate, who are a member of the Bar Association, and have approved professional indemnity insurance are covered by the New South Wales Bar Association’s Professional Standards Scheme, which limits their liability for damages to $1.5 million.

The Professional Standards Council published a guide on responsibilities of members to use the disclosure statement which can be viewed here.

Please check to ensure you are using the correct disclosure statement on all documents as required.

Should you have any queries regarding the Scheme, please contact Chris Winslow on ph 9229 1732 or e-mail cwinslow@nswbar.asn.au.

The statistics in the report are contextualised within the framework of hate, or bias, crime more broadly through a chapter by Gail Mason and Nicole Asquith. The most common category of such crime in NSW (44%) is motivated by religion, and 73% of such offences are against Muslim victims. Islamophobic attacks are, thus, among the most numerous instances of hate, or bias, crime. This is another reason why the report is important.

The report concerns 349 verified incidents reported over a two year period. Some key statistics include: 72% of victims are women (and women are more likely to be targeted when visibly Muslim, e.g. wearing a hijab or other head covering), while 71% of perpetrators are men. Perpetrators were often Anglo-Celtic (where their ethnic background was known). Those targeted are often younger (72% were in the 20-39 age bracket, and 14% of cases involved children, whether with or without adults), with perpetrators often older (49% were in the 40-49 age bracket). And "[w]omen in some cases projected multiple vulnerabilities, such as being identifiably Muslim with their hijab, travelling unaccompanied, pregnant and accompanying younger children at the same time". All of this tends to demonstrate that the horrific assault of a pregnant woman which was so widely reported recently is far from an isolated incident but, instead, the extreme end of a spectrum of behaviour which commonly confronts visibly Muslim people, especially women. The data suggest there is some way to go to address this. But, as Mason and Asquith observe, collection and analysis of data of this kind permits the development of better policy, including "effective victim support and prevention strategies

The conference will run from 9:00 am to 3.00 pm. Morning tea and a stand-up buffet lunch will be provided. For more details about the conference and the costs involved please click here

Registrations are open to NSW barristers that currently hold a practising certificate and places in the conference are strictly limited. Please register early to avoid disappointment.

**Please note, completion of the form does not imply that a place on the course is guaranteed. Places are extremely limited. Priority will be given to those barristers who have a demonstrated interest in the education programs of the NSW Bar Association.

The conferences are run by registration only and places in each conference are strictly limited. To register and pay to secure your place, please click on any of the "Register Now" buttons located on the dedicated 2020 Regional Conference Series website.

For any questions about CPD requirements, conferences or the general CPD program, please contact the Professional Development Department on 02 9232 4919 or via e-mail cpd@nswbar.asn.au

The Report is based on actual events. Idealistic staffer Daniel J. Jones (Adam Driver) is tasked by his boss, Senator Dianne Feinstein (Annette Bening), to lead an investigation of the CIA’s detention and interrogation program, which was created in the aftermath of 9/11. Jones’s relentless pursuit of the truth leads to explosive findings that uncover the lengths to which the nation’s top intelligence agency went to destroy evidence, subvert the law, and hide a brutal secret from the public.

Book your tickets here.

• Date: Monday, 9 December 2019
• Time: 6:15 pm – 9:00 pm
• Venue: Palace Verona Cinemas, 17 Oxford Street, Paddington NSW 2021

About the Australian Centre for International Justice

The Australian Centre for International Justice (ACIJ) is an independent and not-for-profit legal centre and non-government organisation that fights for justice and accountability for grave crimes and is working to develop Australia's investigations and prosecutions of war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and torture. They ask you to consider making a tax-deductible donation to their launch fund here.

Click here for more information and to view photos.