President: Tammy McLeod
The Law Commission consulted with AWLA regarding its report on The Partial Defence of Provocation.
Miriam Dean KC presented at the President’s function in February.
In March, AWLA held a seminar on flexible workplace practices with Maria Dew KC, Kim Burkhart and Shan Wilson.
The April newsletter reviewed the gender disparity amongst the “leading lawyers” in the 2007 Chambers Global and Asia Pacific Legal 500 legal directories. After considering the low statistics, a number of areas were highlighted as being responsible for the inequity.
Firstly, the low number of women in partnership at large law firms emphasised that women practitioners do not have adequate opportunities to demonstrate their skills in their areas of expertise due to lack of recognition and/or acknowledgement within their workplaces.
Secondly, research shows that the lack of professional networks and associated self-promotion for women inhibit the chances of women’s names being put forward for consideration by the directories.
Lastly, recognition requires a high profile in one’s area of practice, research has found that maintaining consistency and profile can be more difficult for practitioners who choose to take time out of work or work part time to care for families. It has been recognised as challenging to maintain clients and professional contacts when taking time out of the profession.
Hon. Dame Silvia Cartwright presented at the inaugural Dame Silvia Cartwright lecture. Her address focused on her career and the developments of the law and wider society at the time.
In discussing the integral role of the Family Court judges in protecting the human rights of vulnerable members of the community, as: “it was in this Court that the first legal issues surrounding violence and sexual assaults on women and children were determined”.
She reflected on the Family Court, “in my experience, the quiet work of many of the judges in the 1980s and 1990s was seminal, laying the intellectual foundation for many changes both in the law and in social attitudes.”