VICTORIAN No. 141 ISSN 0159-3285BAR NEWSWINTER 2007 Historic Reopening of the Banco Court in the Supreme Court Welcome: Judge Maree Kennedy Farewell to VCAT President Morris Obituary: Wake to Celebrate the Life of Peter Ross Hayes QC Singing Judge Billed with Monash Professor of Embryonic Stem Cell Research at the County Court Historic Reopening of Banco Court in the Supreme Court State of the Victorian Judicature Bar Dinner Speech, Jeremy Ruskin QC Bar Dinner Speech, Justice John Middleton Bar Indigenous Lawyers Meeting The Victorian Bar — Justice Kenneth Hayne Scholarsip Verbatim The Third Women Lawyers’ Achievement Awards Pro Bono Swimming Championships New Exhibition of Women at the Bar Ian Hunter QC Addresses the Melbourne Branch of the Anglo Australasian Lawyers Society We Are Not Americans Yet ... Goodbye Regina? Bar Readers Signing On So You Want to be a Judge? Readers from Vanuatu The Trial of Ned Kelly — Revisited Are Barristers Snobs? Verbatim in America Team up with somebody you can rely on... When it comes to research, you can·t take any chances. Your advice must be based on 100% accurate, up-to-the-minute, reliable information. With LexisNexis you can have Australia’s BEST and MOST COMPREHENSIVE legal library right at your fingertips to boost your research capabilities without additional staff overheads! Our experts can package an online information solution to suit your individual or practice needs from over 100 works spanning 16 practice areas and a host of in-depth legal research and reference works. Go to www.lexisnexis.com.au/solutions for details of our online solutions for barristers. Start building your own research solution today. Take advantage of our 13 MONTHS FOR THE PRICE OF 12 OFFER* Ask about our 14 DAY FREE TRIAL* *Terms and conditions apply. See website for details www.lexisnexis.com.au/solutions © 2007 Reed International Books Australia Pty Ltd (ABN 70 001 002 357) trading as LexisNexis. LexisNexis and the Knowledge Burst logo are registered trademarks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., and used under license. ABN 70 001 002 357. Team up with somebody you can rely on... VICTORIAN BAR NEWS No. 141 WINTER 2007 Contents EDITORS’ BACKSHEET 5 Whither the Legal Profession or Where is the When it comes to research, Law Industry Going? CHAIRMAN’S CUPBOARD you can·t take any chances. Your advice must be 6 The Civil Justice Review based on 100% accurate, up-to-the-minute, reliable information. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S COLUMN 9 40 Years of Very Small Steps on the Path to Reconciliation With LexisNexis you can have Australia’s BEST and MOST COMPREHENSIVE legal library right 10 Media Release: Government Legal Work at your fingertips to boost your research capabilities without additional staff overheads! Our experts Redresses Gender Imbalance can package an online information solution to suit your individual or practice needs from over 100 WELCOME works spanning 16 practice areas and a host of in-depth legal research and reference works. 11 Judge Maree Kennedy State of the Judicature Bar Dinner Speech Address. FAREWELL Go to www.lexisnexis.com.au/solutions for details of our online solutions for barristers. 12 Farewell to VCAT President Morris obituary Start building your own research solution today. Take advantage of our 16 Wake to Celebrate the Life of Peter Ross * Hayes QC 13 MONTHS FOR THE PRICE OF 12 OFFER NEWS AND VIEWS Ask about our 14 DAY FREE TRIAL* 19 Singing Judge Billed with Monash Professor of Embryonic Stem Cell Research at the County Court 20 Historic Reopening of Banco Court in the Supreme Court 22 State of the Victorian Judicature Address 29 Bar Dinner Speech, Jeremy Ruskin QC 35 Bar Dinner Speech, Justice John Middleton Bar Indigenous Lawyers Meeting 39 Bar Indigenous Lawyers Meeting 40 The Victorian Bar – Justice Kenneth Hayne Scholarship 41 Verbatim 42 The Third Women Lawyers’ Achievement Awards 47 Pro Bono Swimming Championships 48 New Exhibition of Women at the Bar 52 Ian Hunter QC Addresses the Melbourne Branch of the Anglo Australasian Lawyers Society 58 We Are Not Americans Yet ... 63 Goodbye Regina? 64 Bar Readers Signing On The Trial of Ned Kelly — Revisited Are Barristers Snobs? 65 So You Want to be a Judge? 66 Readers from Vanuatu 68 The Trial of Ned Kelly — Revisited 70 Are Barristers Snobs? 71 Verbatim in America LAWYER’S BOOKSHELF 72 Books Reviewed Cover: Historic Reopening of the Banco Court, Supreme Court, see pages 20–28. Bar Readers Signing On Readers from Vanuatu *Terms and conditions apply. See website for details www.lexisnexis.com.au/solutions © 2007 Reed International Books Australia Pty Ltd (ABN 70 001 002 357) trading as LexisNexis. LexisNexis and the Knowledge Burst logo are registered trademarks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., and used under license. ABN 70 001 002 357. Victorian Bar Council VICTORIAN BAR COUNCIL Chairs of Standing Committees of the Bar Council Applications Review Committee *Executive Committee G *Digby QC, G.J. Clerks: Charitable and Sporting Donations Committee A *Shand QC, M.W. (Chairman) D *Riordan S.C., P.J. D *Riordan S.C., P.J. (Senior Vice-Chairman) Conciliators for Sexual Harassment and Vilification G *Lacava S.C., P.G. (Junior Vice-Chairman) B *Curtain QC, D.E. G *Colbran QC, M.J. (Honorary Treasurer) Counsel Committee D Alstergren W. (Assistant Honorary Treasurer) G *Colbran QC, M.J. D *Fajgenbaum QC, J.I. G *Digby QC, G.J. Editorial Committee for In Brief and Website News H Tobin S.C., T.P. Section D *McLeod S.C., F.M. D *McLeod S.C., F.M. H McGarvie S.C., R.W. Equal Opportunity Committee W *Neal S.C., D.J. D *McLeod S.C., F.M. G *Judd, K.E. Ethics Committee D Moshinsky M.K. G *Lacava S.C., P.G. L Hannebery, P.J. R *Fairfield, C.G. Human Rights Committee D *Shaw, C.E. D *Fajgenbaum QC, J.I. G *Anderson, K.J.D. Indigenous Lawyers Committee D Burns, A.G. G *Golvan S.C., C.D. R Harrison, D.C. Legal Assistance Committee B Sharpe, M.R. A *Macaw QC, R.C. G *Neskovcin, P.A. (Honorary Secretary) Legal Education and Training Continuing Legal B *Pitt, S.T. (Assistant Honorary Secretary) Education Committee D *Ruskin QC, J. Ethics Committee Legal Education and Training Readers’ Course G Lacava S.C., P.G. (Chairman) Committee C Meagher ED, QC, D.R. B *Hill QC, I.D. G&J Willee RFD, QC, P.A. New Barristers’ Standing Committee G&J Lally QC, W.F. B *Pitt, S.T. G&J Santamaria QC, J.G. T Titshall QC, M.R. Past Practising Chairmen’s Committee F Gobbo QC, J.H. F *Costigan QC, F.X. A Manly S.C., R.J. Professional Indemnity Insurance Committee D Davies S.C., J. H *McGarvie S.C., R.W. G&J Shwartz, A. Professional Standards Education Committee P Williams, I.S. G&J *Willee RFD, QC, P.A. D Kirton. C.E. F Shiff, P.L. Victorian Bar Dispute Resolution Committee D Moshinsky M.K. C *Maxted, R.G. D Shaw C.E. VICTORIAN BAR NEWS Paul Duggan, Richard Brear and Peter Printed by: Impact Printing Editors Lithgow (Book Reviews) 69–79 Fallon Street, Gerard Nash QC, Paul Elliott QC Editorial Consultant Brunswick Vic. 056 and Judy Benson David Wilken This publication may be cited as Editorial Board David Johns (Photography) (2007) 141 Vic B.N. Julian Burnside QC Published by The Victorian Bar Inc. Graeme Thompson Owen Dixon Chambers, Advertising 205 William Street, Melbourne 000. Publications Management Pty Ltd Editorial Secretary 8 Essex Road, Surrey Hills, John Stevens Registration No. A 00404 S Victoria 127 Editorial Committee Opinions expressed are not necessarily Telephone: (0) 9888 5977 John Kaufman QC, William F. Gillies, those of the Bar Council or the Bar or Facsimile: (0) 9888 5919 Carolyn Sparke, Georgina Schoff, of any person other than the author. E-mail: [email protected] 4 Editors’ Backsheet Whither the Legal Profession or Where is the Law Industry Going? ELBOURNE University recently held a reunion lunch for some Mof the baby boomers of the law school. The Chancellor of the univer- sity and the Dean of the law faculty outlined the new plan for the future — the graduate degree. Alumni meet- ings are being held to explain the direc- tion the university is taking. Strange advertisements have appeared on the television, selling the graduate degrees in law, medicine and the other profes- sions. It is indeed a vision for the future — a radical change for the university. Instead of a four-year law degree, or five-or six- year combined degree, a law student will complete a three-year arts, science or commerce degree and then do a law degree in two years. It will be a very inten- sive two years, with four years of study being crammed into two. Will it mean that a student will need VCE marks of 99.4 per cent to begin an arts degree? In any case ever contemplate practising law: far too people who would make good barristers during the three years of the undergradu- vulgar and doesn’t pay enough.” and solicitors (or Australian Lawyers and ate degree the pressure will be enormous Despite all the modern liberal educa- Officers of the Court) are being kept out. to obtain marks to get into the hot-house tional trends, overwhelmingly, parents The law schools should limit the law faculty. want their children to be a doctor or alter- number of students who don’t want to So much for smelling the roses natively say that they got the marks to practise and encourage those who have a at university and enjoying a well- get into a law school, even though they’ll real vocation, even though they may not rounded experience other than pure never practise.