No Images? Click here 17 May 2019 Who Will Be 2019 Lawyer of the Year?Excitement is building for tonight's Law Week Awards Night at The Westin, Perth. The Law Society looks forward to welcoming guests, as we mark the conclusion of another successful Law Week. At this evening's event we take some time to recognise practitioners who have made a lasting and significant contribution to the profession and the wider community. Tonight we find out who will be awarded 2019 Lawyer of the Year, in both the less than five years' practising and more than five years' practising categories. Follow the Law Society on Facebook for the latest updates. Look out for a full review of Law Week 2019 in next week's Friday Facts and in the June edition of Brief. With thanks to Law Week supporters and sponsors: AnnouncementsStatement from the President of the Law Council of Australia, Arthur Moses SC – IBA Report on Bullying and Sexual Harassment in the Legal ProfessionThe Law Council of Australia will review closely the IBA’s new report, which investigates the global rates of bullying and harassment in the legal profession. Australia had the highest response rate with 937 respondents, comprising 13 per cent of total responses. Although it is unclear, this may tend to illustrate that there is less reluctance to raise or discuss these issues in Australia than in other countries who responded to the survey. However, what is clear is that sexual harassment and bullying is not to be tolerated in any workplace and the legal profession is no different. In order to have the confidence of the community, it is plain that the legal profession must be representative of the community. This means ensuring that all members of our profession, no matter their race, gender or sexual persuasion are treated with respect and not subject to inappropriate conduct which may force them to leave our profession. The Australian legal profession has a range of professional conduct rules in place to deal with sexual harassment and bullying. If substantiated, this type of behaviour may amount to professional misconduct and result in disciplinary action outside of any civil or criminal proceedings. Sexual harassment or bullying is a matter which is taken very seriously by the Law Council and its constituent bodies. The Law Council and its constituent bodies have been acutely aware of issues surrounding bullying and harassment and have been, for some time, running education programs relating to workplace conduct and dealing with workplace bullying and harassment. In light of the IBA findings, the Law Council will undertake a review of our programs and update and improve them if considered necessary. Statement from Greg McIntyre SC, President of the Law Society of Western AustraliaThe Law Society of Western Australia is a signatory to the Law Council of Australia Diversity and Inclusion Charter and stands steadfastly against any form of bullying or harassment in the legal profession. Such conduct has no place in the legal profession, which is founded upon the principles of justice and equity. The Society's Ethical and Practice Guidelines promotes that all legal practitioners should act with honesty, courtesy and fairness towards others, including fellow practitioners. The Society regularly runs educational seminars and provides a range of resources that aim to address these issues and will continue to work with its members to lead the cultural change that is required to address unacceptable bullying and harassment in the workplace. 2019 Law Society Mentoring Programme Now OpenLooking for guidance to take the next step in your career? Or are you a senior practitioner looking to give back to the profession? Expressions of interest are now open for the Law Society's Mentoring Programme. The Law Society offers the mentoring programme to:
Mentee Expressions of Interest must be received by the Law Society by 5.00pm on Thursday, 23 May 2019. Expressions of Interest from Mentors must be received by the Law Society by 5.00pm on Monday, 20 May 2019. Expressions of Interest may be sent to advocacy@lawsocietywa.asn.au. Legal Aid CommitteeExpressions of Interest are sought from Law Society members who are private practitioners for nomination to fill three vacancies on the Legal Aid Committee for 2019-2020 financial year in accordance with the Legal Aid Commission Act 1976, Section 25(2). The Legal Aid Committee considers applications for legal aid where there is a conflict of interest for the Director or his delegate to make a decision on the application. This is usually limited to cases where the application is to investigate the merit of, or to commence proceedings against Legal Aid WA. Members who are interested in being nominated to this Committee are asked to submit a brief CV and their contact details by close of business on Friday, 31 May 2019 to slangmair@lawsocietywa.asn.au. Lawyer Visits to Schools Network RequestSt Mark’s Anglican Community School – Hillarys Have You Recently Changed Job or Address? Don’t Miss Out on Important InformationTo ensure that the Law Society has your most current information as we approach the membership renewal process, please take two minutes to login to the member portal at members.lawsocietywa.asn.au and click on the 'My Details' icon to update your details. For log-in assistance, please contact (08) 9324 8692 or membership@lawsocietywa.asn.au. EventsInter-Profession Networking Event |