Annual Members Dinner, getting to 'net-zero' and leadership in legal practice

The countdown to the festive season

I am looking forward to joining with our special guests, friends and colleagues at next Monday’s Annual Members Dinner. After the challenges of 2021, it will be great to celebrate the hard work and achievements of the state’s solicitors.  I will also announce the recipient of the 2021 President’s Medal, which we award each year to a NSW solicitor who has made a significant personal and professional contribution to the betterment of law and justice in our state.

We have some important events happening in the lead up to the Annual Members Dinner.

This afternoon, in partnership with NSW Young Lawyers, we have our final Thought Leadership event, a panel discussion on “Getting to Net Zero – the role of the legal profession in ensuring a just transition”.

To mark International Day of People With a Disability, the Law Society's Diversity and Inclusion Committee is hosting a panel event on Thursday 2 December 2021. It will explore leadership and participation in the law of people living with disabilities in a post-COVID world. Our expert panellists will draw on their lived experiences as solicitors navigating the legal workplace, sharing practical ideas on how we can better promote an understanding of disability issues, create a more accessible workplace, and improve access to justice for clients with disabilities.

On Wednesday, 8 December, our final event in the 2021 FLIP Buzzwords series will look at leadership in legal practice. As the pace and volatility of change in the legal profession accelerates, the role of leaders and the importance of leadership is becoming more crucial. This webcast will explore what leadership looks like, how we overcome leadership challenges, what clients expect from their lawyers and how to provide leadership in a hybrid and remote working environment. You can register now for the live webcast which will be held on Wednesday 8 December. It will be a great way to wrap up our FLIP Buzzwords Series for 2021.

For those who missed it, last week, we also launched our new FLIP Tech Tools series with a webcast on Cyber and Data Security. It included important presentations on cyber insurance, incorporating online education into legal practice and cyber security tools and support for legal practices. It highlighted just how important it is for organisations to have regular staff training on cyber and data security and policies, processes and technology in place to protect them from a cyber-attack. LawCover also provided a useful cyber implementation checklist as part of the event’s resources. The webcast is now available on the Law Society’s on demand portal.

Juliana Warner, President, Law Society of NSW