The importance of providing ongoing learning and development opportunities for our members

At the Law Society of NSW, we take seriously the importance of providing ongoing learning and development opportunities for our members. So, in a year that has brought disruption on so many levels, I am pleased that the Law Society has been able to take the ‘business as usual’ approach in transitioning our CPD programs, Thought Leadership Series, FLIP Buzzwords and other important events, including our recent Specialist Accreditation Week, into online events.

Last week’s virtual Specialist Accreditation conference was quite exceptional, with more than 280  attendees watching over 50 hours of substantive law topics delivered by 58 speakers within five specialist streams.

Of particular interest was a panel discussion on what legal practitioners should expect from the state’s new Personal Injury Commission (PIC).  In August 2020, legislation was passed to establish a one-stop-shop PIC to manage dispute resolution for road and workplace injuries. The new body will merge the dispute resolution systems of the workers compensation and CTP insurance schemes into a single, independent tribunal from March 2021. The PIC will have two specialist divisions, one to deal with workers compensation and the other motor accidents, and an independent judicial head. The panel featured his Honour Judge Gerard Phillips, President, Personal Injury Commission, Division Heads Rod Parsons (Workers Compensation) and Marie Johns (Motor Accidents), and was moderated by Ian Jones, Partner, Sparke Helmore Lawyers.

Judge Phillips told the panel that adapting to change will be a consistent practice of the new tribunal, and that includes retaining digital delivery. For those in the regions, he stressed that the PIC will always “sit in the bush” but will augment regional sittings with a new audio-visual platform so "if you don’t want to travel 100 kms you won’t have to, you will get your case heard".

Rod Parsons agreed, saying, “For practitioners, it’s important to accept we will be conducting hearings by the audio-visual links and it will remain a feature post-pandemic. It really is a good fit for all types of hearings that we have, and it means best practice, efficiency and costs.”

However, one change that will occur is that assessors will be prevented from also being a practitioner, to ensure it is seen as a proper, independent tribunal. As Judge Phillips explained, “Independence is a multi-faceted beast and part of that is the independence of the decision-makers … everyone I have interviewed has cheerfully signed up to the new terms and, come 1 March, rest assured we will have a terrific bunch of members who will be ready to start hearing cases on that day.”

All in all, it was a very informative discussion, and I would recommend that anyone working in this area of practice register to view the on-demand webcast.

On a final note, I am particularly delighted to welcome 70 new Accredited Specialists who have successfully completed the Specialist Accreditation Program this year. As the principal of a suburban law practice I can speak from experience: gaining specialist accreditation is a significant achievement which offers practitioners a recognised means of differentiation and demonstrated expertise.

Richard Harvey, President, Law Society of NSW

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