When our premises at 170 Phillip Street closed some weeks ago, we implemented a number of measures to ensure there would be minimal disruption to Law Society operations and services, with a focus on the PC and membership renewals process.

As the COVID-19 pandemic has continued and physical distancing measures have increased, we’ve had to further adapt our modus operandi for the benefit of our members.

Our annual Sydney Law Careers Fair, which was scheduled to take place at the International Convention Centre on 3 April, was quickly re-developed as a virtual event. Zoom was used to power unique video chat rooms for each of the 38 exhibitors during the event and nearly 1,000 law students and graduates jumped online to seek career guidance from those already well-established in the legal profession. It was a huge success.

Similarly, our highly anticipated event presenting the findings from our 2019 FLIPstream research, “Change Leadership for Lawyers”, will now be presented via webcast on Wednesday 29 April. We have already received more than 500 registrations for this free webinar – and I expect more will follow in the coming days. With COVID-19 disrupting our daily lives, understanding how to manage change – whether transformational or crisis-driven, planned or emergent – has never been more relevant to our profession.

We’ve also made some adjustments to our Law Society Mentoring Programs, which are due to start in July. Members can participate in three uniquely targeted mentoring programs developed to support lawyers at different stages of their career; a Graduate Mentoring Program, a Young Lawyers Mentoring Program, and a Women’s Mentoring Program. We anticipate that meetings between mentors and mentees will initially take place via video and teleconferencing programs such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom. We will then resume with face-to-face meetings when COVID-19 restrictions ease.  If you want to know more about the benefits of mentoring, I encourage you to watch our new video on the subject.

And I am pleased to announce, after the postponement of our Mock Trials program for Years 10 and 11 students, we have implemented a new program, The Future Lawyers Program. More than 144 schools are being invited to join The Future Lawyers Program, which will take place via Zoom, over six weeks.

Richard Harvey, President, Law Society of NSW

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