PRESIDENT'S REPORT Jocelyne Boujos President, The Law Society of Western Australia
Welcome to the first edition of Brief for 2021, and my first President’s Report.
2021 UWA, Law Society and WA Legal Profession CPD Fundraiser
As I write this, Western Australia is in a hard lockdown following the Premier’s announcement on Sunday, 31 January and there are terrible fires raging in the north east of Perth. The Law Society and Law Access Limited, as members of the Disaster Legal Response Project Team and as per the Legal Aid WA Disaster Legal Response Plan, responded to the bushfire by assisting with the disaster legal response and will continue to do so. We also acknowledge the difficulties caused by the heavy rain and flooding that occurred in the west Kimberley, Pilbara and Gascoyne as a tropical low moved across the area earlier last week.
Last year, in January 2020, after the devastating bushfires in the Eastern States, the Society joined UWA and many other legal associations to host a special CPD fundraiser event to raise money for the Red Cross Australian bushfire relief fund. Following its success, the Western Australian legal profession is coming together again in a special 2021 CPD Fundraiser, “Access to Justice in a COVID-19 World”, to support the Women’s Legal Service WA, which has seen an increase in demand for services due to COVID-19. The Women’s Legal Service WA is a not-for-profit community legal centre that provides legal services to women across WA.
In light of all the challenges we faced last year, I would like to pay tribute to Immediate Past President, Nicholas van Hattem. Nick made an outstanding contribution to our Society and showed great leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic last year. Having no idea what shape the year would take he was nevertheless determined that all staff stayed safe and all members stayed connected. Nick, you “nailed” podcasts! I would also like to acknowledge the outstanding and unstinting support that the Law Society received from its Chief Executive Officer, General Managers and staff over the unprecedented challenging year that was 2020. Council was appreciative and remain indebted to all for the financial and personal sacrifices required by each to provide that support. In February, the Society’s new Council and Executive will hold our first meetings of the year. I welcome the new members who join the Council and I look forward to seeing what we can all achieve together for our profession and the wider community. The important work during my term as President will be: • Advocating for the Law Society’s Policy Positions on a range of matters in the forthcoming election. (See the Government’s and Opposition’s responses in this edition of Brief on page 10.) • Ensuring that the need for the changes to s14 of the Administration Act – 1903 are understood by relevant parties and that they are implemented. • Retention of the changes to legal practice and the administration of Justice made as part of COVID are maintained and supported to continue to provide more access to justice. • Implementation of Legal Profession Uniform Law. • Implementation of the new 2020/2023 Strategic Plan. • Continuing to work with the Law Council of Australia on addressing sexual harassment in the legal profession. COVID-19 Information and Resources Hub Following a challenging year dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic, I am hopeful that 2021 will be a positive and inspiring year for the Law Society and our profession. As we have seen from this latest sudden lockdown, Western Australia cannot be complacent. However, the legal profession has shown it is proactive and flexible and well positioned to maintain and continue building on its online modes of legal service delivery, including in the administration of justice, this year. The Law Society will continue to provide support to you during what will be the challenging time of a new “COVID-19 Normal World”, as we have done before, with resources and information to ensure you stay updated. Please refer to the Law Society’s website and our COVID-19 Information and Resources Hub for more information.
02 | BRIEF FEBRUARY 2021
The University of Western Australia, in partnership with the Law Society and supported by the WA legal profession, is hosting this special lecture event on Thursday, 25 February and I warmly encourage you to join us at this worthy fundraiser – and receive one CPD point for your support! The Chancellor of UWA, the Honourable Robert French AC, Chief Judge Julie Wager from the District Court and Dr Jacoba Brasch QC, the President of the Law Council of Australia, have kindly agreed to speak at the event. Details on how to register for this event are available here: https://bit.ly/3atsn44. We thank UWA Law School, the Asian Australian Lawyers Association, Association of Corporate Counsel Australia, Australian Lawyers Alliance, Community Legal WA, Criminal Lawyers Association WA, Family Law Practitioners’ Association of WA, National Environmental Law Association, Women Lawyers of Western Australia, the Piddington Society and the WA Society of Jewish Jurists and Lawyers for their support of the event. District Court 50th Anniversary Black Tie Gala Dinner Celebrating the conclusion of a special anniversary year, I hope to see you at the District Court 50th Anniversary Black Tie Gala Dinner, hosted by the District Court of WA and the Law Society at Crown Towers on Saturday, 27 February from 6.30pm. With less than four weeks to go, already over 500 tickets have been sold. I am however pleased to announce that we have recently been able to secure another 200 tickets for this long-awaited chance for the legal profession to come together for a special night. Guests will enjoy moments of celebration, quality hospitality and have fun on the dancefloor. You can purchase individual tickets, small groups and tables of 10 are available. To book your ticket or table please visit https://bit. ly/3pLsIFE. A special accommodation rate at Crown is also available for guests. Advocacy One of the objects of the Society, as outlined in its Constitution, is to promote the development and improvement of the law in Western Australia. To this end, the Society will continue to advocate for law reforms that will enhance the legal profession and benefit the community in 2021. State Election 2021 The Law Society has received responses to its Briefing Papers from both the Labor Government and Liberal Opposition. The responses are published on page 10 of this edition for members’ review. Uniform Law The prorogation of Parliament prior to the election has meant that the Uniform Law Application Bills have
lapsed. The latest advice the Law Society has received is that, if the Labor Government is returned, the Uniform Law will likely commence on 1 January 2022. The Law Society thanks its Working Group and CPD presenters for their work thus far and looks forward to their continued work to ready the profession for the change. (Special Note: Thomas Moorhead, Policy and Advocacy Lawyer of the Law Society, provides an interesting article on prorogation and its historical context on page 21 of this edition.) Statutory Legacy A further disappointment due to the bills having lapsed is that the Administration Amendment Bill 2018 was not passed. This means that the legacy paid to a spouse when their partner dies intestate remains hundreds of thousands of dollars less than is the case everywhere else in Australia. The lassitude of successive Governments in actioning this simple yet crucial legislative amendment of s.14 of the current Act is unacceptable for Western Australians. Mentoring Programme Expressions of interest are now open for the Law Society’s successful 2021 Mentoring Programme for Lawyers. The programme will be available to practitioners of all levels of practice post admission. It will commence in March and run through until November 2021. Please visit https://www.lawsocietywa.asn.au/ careers-in-law/mentoring-programme/ to complete an Expression of Interest form. Member Feedback I welcome any comments which members may have on any issues of concern to them. You can email me directly on president@lawsocietywa.asn.au. I look forward to being of service to you and wish all our members the very best for 2021!
Submissions Since the last Advocacy Column in Brief, the Law Society has made submissions on: • Review of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) • Letter to the Chief Justice – Searching for Grants of Probate on the Courts • Portal • Australian Taxation Office Consultation: Death and Taxes • Options to Enhance the Family Safety Competency of Legal Practitioners • Transparency of Legal Costs in Supreme Court Strategic Conferences and Mediations • Statutory Prohibition of Cross-Examination by Unrepresented Defendants in Civil Proceedings for Sexual Assault and Sexual Abuse • Continuing COVID-19 Procedures in the Supreme Court of Western Australia • Lodgment of Amended Pleadings and Track Changes • Letter on Draft Inspection Standards for the Office of the Inspector of Custodial Services • Submission on the draft Commonwealth Integrity Commission Bill • Letter to the Attorney-General and Minister for Health on the draft Advance Health Directive • Letters to State and Federal Attorneys-General on appointment of an additional judge in the Family Court of WA • Submission on Community Titles Regulations
