Overheard at the BAQ Conference …
On the weekend of 7 and 8 March 2009 over 400 barristers (more than one third of those practicing in the State of Queensland) attended the Queensland Bar Association’s Annual Conference at Marina Mirage Resort on the Gold Coast. Hearsay was there.
The content of the material is dealt with elsewhere. The following matters were overheard or not overheard at the conference.
Just prior to entering the Practice Management Session headed “Work, Life Balance Seminar”: “I’m missing my kids’ ballet graduation performance to be here today.”
“Is it worse to claim CPD points for a lecture you didn’t attend if the lecture was on ethics?”
“[a certain senior Judge] has Mona Lisa eyes. They follow you across the room”. — “Only if you are guilty” —“We are all guilty in his eyes”.
“Lawyers always try to read more into their instructions than appears. For instance, the dress code was stated to be “resort wear”. So many put the word “last” ahead of that direction”.
Supreme and District Court Practice Directions No.1 of 2009 – Recording Devices in Courtrooms
To download a copy of Practice Directions No.1 of 2009 for the Supreme Court, CLICK HERE and for the District Court, CLICK HERE.
Magistrates Courts – Practice Directions Nos. 3 and 4 of 2009
To download a copy of Practice Directions No.3 of 2009, CLICK HERE and for Practice Direction No.4 of 2009 for the Magistrates Court, CLICK HERE.
Justice Margaret McMurdo Awarded QUT Honorary Doctorate
The President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Margaret McMurdo, has been awarded the title of Doctor of the University, Queensland University of Technology’s highest honorary award which was presented in recognition of her distinguished service and contribution to the community.
The degree of Doctor of the University is an honorary award of the highest status in recognition of distinguished service to the community, to QUT or to scholarship.
TC Beirne School of Law – Current Legal Issues Seminar Series 2009
Current Legal Issues is a new series of seminars commencing in 2009. The series seeks to bring together leading scholars, practitioners and members of the Judiciary in Queensland and from abroad, with a view to:
⢠providing a forum for the critical analysis and discussion of current legal issues;
⢠bringing to bear upon those issues the different perspectives offered by leading members of the Academy, profession and Judiciary;
⢠forging stronger links between academic and practising lawyers in Queensland.
Each seminar will comprise a chair, speaker, and commentator. The chair will introduce the speaker and commentator. A paper will then be presented by a leading practising or academic lawyer, and will be subject to a brief, expert commentary. Subsequent debate and contributions from the floor will be facilitated by the chair. Seminar papers will be available in advance at www.law.uq.edu.au/current-legal-issues-series, a website hosted by the University of Queensland.
30 April 2009: “The Australian Law of Restitution: has the High Court Lost its Way?”
Speaker: Professor Andrew Burrows, QC, FBA, Norton Rose Professor of Commercial Law, University of Oxford
Commentator: David Jackson QC
Chair: The Hon Justice de Jersey AC, Chief Justice of Queensland
21 May 2009: “Estoppel by Convention and the Sanctity of Contract”
Speaker: John McKenna SC
Commentator: The Hon Justice Keane, Queensland Court of Appeal
Chair: Professor Ross Grantham, Dean, TC Beirne School of Law
11 June 2009: “Directors’ Duties in the Zone of Insolvency”
Speaker: John Sheahan SC
Commentator: Professor Ross Grantham, Dean, TC Beirne School of Law
Chair: Mr Ken MacDonald, Allens Arthur Robinson
30 July 2009: “The Admissibility and use of Relationship and Propensity Evidence after HML v The Queen (2008) 245 ALR 204”
Speaker: Dr David Hamer, TC Beirne School of Law
Commentator: Th e Hon Justice Holmes, Queensland Court of Appeal
Chair: Peter Davis SC
20 August 2009: “Causation in the Trade Practices Act”
Speaker: Liam Kelly SC
Commentator: Mr Glen Owbridge, Australian Government Solicitor, Brisbane
Chair: The Hon Justice Applegarth, Supreme Court of Queensland
17 September 2009: “Judicial attitudes to judicial review: A comparative examination of justifications offered for restricting the scope of judicial review in Australia, Canada and England”
Speaker: Dr Anthony Cassimatis, TC Beirne School of Law
Commentator: The Hon Justice Kiefel, High Court of Australia
Chair: Walter Sofronoff QC, Solicitor General for Queensland
Career Mentors Needed for QUT Students
Members are invited to participate in the Queensland University of Technology’s careers mentor scheme which will run from March to October 2009. The scheme matches final-year students with people working in their chosen field. For more information call (07) 3138 2687 or email mentor@qut.edu.au
Crown Law Ball – 9 May 2009
AILA Insurance Intensive – 14 and 15 May 2009
The Australian Insurance Law Association’s Insurance Law Intensive will take place at Noosa on 14 and 15 May 2009. The conference is accredited by the Queensland Bar Association and is liberally peppered with presenters and chairs from the bench and bar. Three keynote speakers of remarkable calibre, General Peter John Cosgrove AC MC, Professor Martin Davies , Admiralty Law Institute Professor of Maritime Law and Director of the Maritime Law Centre at Tulane Law School, New Orleans, and Dr Andries Terblanche, Chairman of Financial Cervices for KPMG are among the keynote speakers. For more information, CLICK HERE.
Trusts Seminar – 11 May 2009
The Taxation Institute of Australia’s Trusts: Can You Still Trust the Terms of Your Trust seminar will take place at Brisbane on 11 May 2009. This full day event will focus on the latest issues affecting trusts, their terms and their operation in a taxation context. It will also explore the taxation consequences of amendments to a trust’s terms. A unique part of this event will be a review of the various issues dealt with by the speakers in a practical, workshop format. Members will be awarded 6 CPD points for attendance.For more information, CLICK HERE.
Queensland Tax Forum – 26 and 27 May 2009
The Taxation Institute of Australia’s Queensland Tax Forum will take place at Brisbane on 26 and 27 May 2009. Two streams of sessions will be run – an SME stream and a Corporate stream – to provide up to date and relevant tax information for all our members and attendees. A postÂbudget analysis will also be included as well as current economic updates and a session on the current state of play in Tax Reform. For more information, CLICK HERE.
Q150 Constitutional Conference – 29 May 2009
The TC Beirne School of Law’s Centre for Public, International and Comparative Law at the University of Queensland, and the Supreme Court of Queensland Library are the hosts of the Q150 Constitutional Conference on the theme “Queensland Constitution at 150: Origins and Evolution”.
The conference will be held at the Queensland Legislative Council Chamber, Queensland, Parliament House, George Street, Brisbane on 29th May 2009, followed by a dinner in the Strangers Dining Room. It will bring together several leading experts to discuss the origins, historical development and future of the Queensland Constitution.
CPD points are available to conference attendees. Full details of the conference, registration and a list of speakers are available at www.law.uq.edu.au/q150-constitutional-conference
ABA Conference, Strasbourg and London – 26 June to 1 July 2009
Due to the size and nature of the venues in both cities, members are advised that it has become necessary to impose a limit of 200 on places for registrants. Over 400 people have already expressed an interest in attending and over half of the places have already been taken. Members are urged not to delay in returning the registration form.
The conference will commence in Strasbourg on 26 June with a full day session in the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights and will conclude with a Gala Dinner at Lincoln’s Inn, London on 1 July 2009. It is accredited by the Bar Association of Queensland for CPD purposes and members have the opportunity of securing 10 points by attending. Please send your full contact details to Dan O’Connor by facsimile to (07) 3236 1180 or by email to mail@austbar.asn.au
Fulbright Symposium – US-AUS Free Trade Agreement – 24 & 25 August 2009
The economic and relationship impact of the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement will be the focus of the Fulbright Symposium to be held in Canberra on 24 and 25 August 2009.
Organisers Dr Robert Burrell and Ms Kimberlee Weatherall from UQ’s TC Beirne School of Law said the symposium will assess the real impact of the agreement and raise debate over whether such an agreement has any economic or political relationship benefits. The symposium will cover a broad range of policy areas in the agreement including intellectual property, agriculture, television and film content and funding rules, pharmaceutical and health policy. For more information contact Teola Marsh on (07) 3365 2523 or email t.marsh@law.uq.edu.au
