Acknowledging the important role our rural and regional solicitors play in their local communities

In her keynote address to the Law Society’s online Rural Issues Day last Friday, the NSW Minister for Mental Health, Regional Youth and Women, Bronnie Taylor, MLC, provided some well-earned thanks to our rural and regional solicitors, acknowledging the important role they play in their local communities, especially in recent times.

As the Minister told the conference, “Regional lawyers in the community are often the people who clients open up to … and the chances are people are at their most stressed and concerned when they have a legal problem and they are accessing a legal service. They often turn to you as someone that they trust and, more importantly, someone they are seeking guidance from. I have no doubt many of you would have played more of a pastoral care role than you are usually used to in the pandemic.”

In this same vein, the Minister acknowledged that our regional solicitors are also an important and valuable part of the ongoing part of the conversation about mental health. The more we talk openly about mental health, the more we can decrease the stigma associated with it.

If you have not had a chance to watch the Minister’s address, I encourage you to do so. It will be available on-demand, along with the outstanding program of sessions presented during Rural Issues Day 2020 including a panel discussion on navigating hardship in a year of disaster and setbacks, legal ethics for rural practice, and how the family courts have adapted during COVID-19.

Another event of interest to regional practitioners is our upcoming Future of Law and Innovation in the Profession (FLIP) Regional Roadshow, which will be held as an online event on 13 November 2020. The event follows on from our 2019 FLIP Regional Roadshow Series held in Dubbo, Wollongong, Newcastle, and the North Coast.

This year, the two-hour digital experience will provide regional practitioners with innovative and sustainable solutions relating to law which they can implement in their own practices. The beauty of the online format is that regional practitioners across the entire state will be able to register and watch from the convenience of their home or practice. The event is free for all members and will provide two CPD points. Registrations are now open.

Finally, I hope members will join me online at 3:30pm today for the 2020 Annual Members’ Address – to reflect on the year, honour our 50-year members, and announce the recipient of the 2020 President’s Medal.

Richard Harvey, President, Law Society of NSW

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