lawyers as part of the Law Council’s 2011-2013 Strategic Framework for Recruitment and Retention of Women Lawyers.
The project aims to improve the legal profession’s understanding of the reasons for high attrition rates among women lawyers and develop strategies to promote higher retention rates among women lawyers for implementation by law fi rms and legal professional bodies.
The study will be the fi rst of its kind conducted in Australia, as it will include a survey sample of former practitioners who have left the profession, and will cover both solicitors and barristers. At the conclusion of the study, the Law Council expects to publish a comprehensive report, which will include recommendations to address high attrition rates among women lawyers and encourage women who have left the profession to re-engage.
This teleconference was signifi cant for two reasons:
• It is the fi rst teleconference formally held under the Partnership Agreement between the Law Council, the BCI, ILSAC and CALD which was executed in 2010.
• The teleconference was sought by Mr Mishra, signifying that the BCI is keen to engage with Australia on legal education and legal services.
The Law Council has subsequently written to the Chair of CALD and the Chair of the Vice-Chancellors (International) regarding a proposed student exchange program.
A meeting with Mr Mishra is expected to take place during the IBA Conference in Dublin, in October 2012.
Visit by the President of the American Bar Association and the Chief Justice of Delaware 3-9 July
From 3-9 July the Law Council, at the invitation of the President and with the support of Constituent Bodies, hosted a visit by the President of the American Bar Association (ABA) Mr Bill Robinson, his wife Joan and the Chief Justice of Delaware, the Hon. Myron Steele.
The delegation was particularly signifi cant as it was the fi rst time a current President of the ABA has visited Australia.
India-Australia Legal Cooperation Committee (IALCC)
On Tuesday 21 August, the International Legal Services Advisory Council (ILSAC) Secretariat facilitated a teleconference with representatives of the Bar Council of India (BIC), Law Council and ILSAC; representatives from the Council of Australian Law Deans (CALD) – the fourth party to the Partnership Agreement signed in 2010 under which the Committee was established – were unable to attend. Attendees included the Secretary-General (who also chaired the meeting), the Chair of the BCI, Mr Manan Mishra and the Chair of ILSAC Mr Tim Bugg.
A series of meetings and activities were undertaken in Melbourne. These included an address by the Chief Justice at the Law Institute of Victoria on the topic ‘Why Delaware?’ and an address by Mr Robinson at Monash University entitled ‘Justice Delayed is Justice Denied’. Other meetings and events included a function hosted by the US Consulate in Melbourne, a lunch hosted by the Chief Justice of Victoria and a meeting with Victorian Legal Aid.
On Friday 6 July, the delegation travelled to Sydney to meet with representatives from the Large Law Firm Group, hosted by Clayton Utz.
Mr and Mrs Robinson stayed in Sydney from 6–9 July for meetings with the Law Society of New South Wales, a visit to the University of Sydney Law School and a meeting
with Mr Bill Grant, Chief Executive Offi cer of New South Wales Legal Aid Commission.
Chief Justice Steele and Mr Robinson, who fi nished his term as President at the ABA Conference in August, both expressed their pleasure with the visit.
In addition to coordinating the Itinerary, the Law Council coordinated a number of media interviews for Mr Robinson and Chief Justice Steele.
The Secretariat wishes to thank the Law Institute of Victoria, the Victorian Bar Association, the New South Wales Law Society and the Large Law Firm Group for their support in hosting the delegation.
South Pacifi c Model Conduct Rules Project
New South Wales Barrister Ms Talitha Fishburn has been appointed to coordinate the South Pacifi c Model Rules Project with the Law Council Secretariat and the South Pacifi c Lawyers’ Association (SPLA) Secretariat. The fi rst stage of the South Pacifi c Model Conduct Rules Project will be to compile resources and source material from SPLA members and other South Pacifi c countries.
The objectives of the Model Rules Project are to develop:
• model conduct rules which can be adopted with appropriate debate and modifi cation to regulate the legal profession in South Pacifi c countries;
• model complaints and discipline handling procedures for use by legal profession regulators and the courts;
• model legal profession act and regulations which can be adopted with appropriate debate and modifi cation to regulate the legal profession in South Pacifi c countries.
The Project is due to be completed prior to the Pacifi c Islands Law Offi cers Network Meeting in the fourth quarter of 2013.
South Pacifi c Lawyers’ Association (SPLA) Executive Teleconference 1 August 2012
The SPLA Executive met by teleconference on 1 August 2012. Key items of discussion included
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