President’s Message

Marching ahead with strategies to strengthen the profession

REBECCA SANDFORD, PRESIDENT

Can we believe it is already March? As festival season rolls around once again, it’s sometimes hard to comprehend that this time last year, we had no idea of the disruption and massive changes still to come. One thing we certainly learned in 2020 was the value and importance of connection and collaboration, and I wanted to mention a couple of recent highlights in cooperative engagement that I have experienced in my first two months as President.

The Executive’s annual retreat was held at Sparkke at the Whitmore on 19 February. I always find the retreat helpful and informative, and a great chance to dive more deeply into strategic matters than it’s usually possible to do in monthly meetings. In addition to receiving reports from key Society staff and Executive members about the work undertaken in the last 12 months and that proposed for the year ahead, we engaged in some useful and productive future planning discussions. A few of the major matters the Executive dealt with during the day included the terms of reference and membership of several of the Society’s governance and operational committees, the Society’s membership offerings and CPD program, steps to improve the perception of lawyers in the eyes of the public, and how to address ongoing concerns about the decline of the Fidelity Fund. I am particularly pleased that we were able to consider and move forward with a new and important initiative proposed by the Society’s Communications Manager, namely a Disability Justice Strategy intended to help bridge gaps between availability and accessibility of legal services for people living with disability. Steps were also taken to progress the development of the Society’s next strategic plan, a key priority of mine for this year, and there will be further consultation about that plan in coming months.

On a related note, in the interests of learning more about how those in other SA industries are strategically approaching wellbeing, I recently attended the “Reset for Wellbeing” conference at the Adelaide Town Hall. Presented by Wellcity Adelaide and designed to explore how Adelaide could take the lead on the global stage as a City of Wellbeing, it was a fascinating morning and I enjoyed hearing from the wide variety of experienced speakers. I particularly liked the keynote presentation from Gabrielle Kelly, the inaugural director of SAHMRI’s Wellbeing and Resilience Centre and former SA Thinker in Residence, who reminded attendees of South Australia’s pioneering history of wellbeing and resilience, including that a focus on wellness was explicitly mentioned in the proposal to found South Australia in 1831. It was inspiring to see so many Adelaide business leaders engaged with this important area, and I came away with some great ideas around measuring, building and embedding connection, wellbeing and resilience into our work, lives and culture, which I look forward to sharing throughout the year.

Last, but far from least, I also wanted to take a moment to provide a quick update about some of the work being done locally to progress the elimination of bullying, sexual harassment and discrimination in the profession. As many of you would be aware, in 2020 the Chief Justice convened a Respectful Behaviours Working Group, comprising a number of key representatives from different organisations and bodies across the profession. There have now been three meetings of this Group, at which members have shared the work being done in their respective areas, and discussed what more can be and is being done to combat this issue. The Society, together with other members of the Group, is currently working to build a quick reference guide which collates information about available resources and support mechanisms, in the interests of making it easier for practitioners to know what to do in dealing with this conduct, and ensuring that the information about available options is readily accessible and consistent in approach. The Society has also provided some statistical information and made submissions to the current Parliamentary Inquiry into this conduct, and I thank the Women Lawyers’ Committee and the Society’s Director of Ethics and Practice in particular for their contributions in that respect. I will also be participating in further discussions on the National Action Plan at the Law Council meetings in March. This is of course only some of the work underway, and whilst I expect it will take time to see the true impact of the steps being taken and the collaborative discussions between members of the Group, it is reassuring to see and experience the cultural changes underway across the profession.

It has been a busy and productive start to the year already, and I’m looking forward to that continuing as 2021 progresses. In the meantime, I am grateful to have the opportunity to enjoy some Fringe, Festival and Writers Week events, and hope you get to do the same! B March 2021 THE BULLETIN 5