Have your say on the impact of changes made as a result of the pandemic

With Greater Sydney in an extended lockdown, and other parts of the state impacted by restrictions, the courts and the legal profession more broadly are once again having to adapt in line with public health orders and restrictions. This is challenging for all of us.

The remote court and client experience during the pandemic is being shaped by many things, and as we have discovered, the impact of these changes has been uneven across the profession. No one experience is representative, and we should not assume that all changes are equally beneficial or can be universally applied in different circumstances.

Factors that impact on proceedings in the courts and tribunals during the lockdowns have included slow or unreliable internet connection, difficulties in managing documents, inexperience with managing new and sometimes unreliable technology, and matters that are simply better dealt with face-to-face. There are also challenges in managing an advisory practice, or operating as in-house counsel, in circumstances where the regular interaction with colleagues and clients, and hard copy files, are simply not possible.

We are keen to hear about our members’ experiences and undertake careful analysis of the impact of the various changes made as a result of the pandemic – on solicitors and their clients, other stakeholders in the justice system, and members of the public.

This is the aim of our current survey on a post-COVID justice system. Your responses to this survey (which will remain confidential and anonymous) will help us engage with government, the courts and our members as decisions are made about which changes are temporary and which will be retained or extended.

You will have received an email from the Law Society with a link to our survey.  If you haven’t had the chance to complete the survey, please find the email and share your views with us before the survey closes at 5pm on Wednesday 4 August 2021.

President’s Medal

2021 President’s Medal – our annual award which acknowledges a NSW solicitor and member of the Law Society who has made a significant personal and professional contribution to the improvement of law and justice in the community.  You can find further details about the eligibility criteria and how to nominate someone for this worthy award on our website along with information about previous President’s Medal recipients and their inspiring work in the law.

Vale Hal Wootten

The NSW legal profession is one of many communities mourning the passing of an extraordinary man, Emeritus Professor Hal Wootten AC QC, founding Dean of UNSW Law & Justice, who passed away last Tuesday, at the age of 98, after a short illness. I am one of tens of thousands of UNSW Law School alumni who benefited enormously from his brilliant mind, the example he set in fighting injustice for the most vulnerable in our community and above all, the duty that he instilled in every one of us to use our law degree to serve the whole of society.

Professor Wootten was a remarkable and generous man, who has left an incredible legacy which reached far beyond the legal profession. My sincere condolences to the family, friends and colleagues he leaves behind, and my thanks, on behalf of the solicitors of this state, for his lifelong contribution to law and justice. Vale Emeritus Professor Hal Wootten AC QC

Juliana Warner, President, the Law Society of NSW

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