President’s Report

Jocelyne Boujos, President, The Law Society of Western Australia

Welcome to the December edition of Brief, the final edition for 2021 and my last Report to you as President of the Law Society of Western Australia.

Annual General Meeting

The Law Society’s Annual General Meeting was held on Thursday, 18 November and we thank Herbert Smith Freehills for providing us with the use of their Perth offices and for the provision of delicious refreshments. Members approved the Law Society’s 2020/21 Annual Report and Financial Statements.

Annual Report 2020/21

From page 5 of this edition of Brief, you will find a copy of my Report from the 2020/21 Annual Report, along with selection of key statistics from the Law Society’s activities, represented in graphical form in “The Year in Numbers”. I encourage you to read the full Annual Report, as it provides an insightful overview of the Law Society’s initiatives and campaigns, and demonstrates the Society’s role as the voice of the legal profession. (To view the full Report, please visit our website here: lawsocietywa.asn.au/annual-reports.) Here is an excerpt: What a transformational year for the Law Society and members this has been! We have all had to speedily overcome and adapt to the challenges of 2020/21. The Law Society has done this while continuing to advocate for law reform and resources that will enhance the effectiveness of the legal profession and ensure the continued equitable administration of justice in the community now and in the future. Like many organisations, the Law Society was presented with dynamic challenges and opportunities in the 2020/21 financial year. In response, I am very pleased to report that the Law Society maintained the confidence of the legal profession which was evidenced by our growth in membership of 7.5%. The Law Society continued to work collaboratively with the Legal Practice Board of Western Australia, the courts, the Department of Justice, the AttorneyGeneral’s Office and many other stakeholders.

We worked closely with the Law Council of Australia and the other Law Society and Bar Associations around Australia working out how best to support members and provide solutions to challenges during times of uncertainty and disruption. Although WA has had kindergarten level disruption compared to other states.

The number of submissions to government agencies increased from 57 to 65 this year and included public policy debates for consumers and industry groups.

Law Society Council election

Congratulations once again to each of the members who were declared elected to the Law Society’s Council for 2022, and in particular to Ms Rebecca Lee, who was declared elected unopposed as the Society’s next President. I would like to thank all members who participated in the election process. I look forward to working with Rebecca, her Executive and the other members of the 2022 Council next year in my role as Immediate Past President. You will find a full list of the 2022 members of Council on page 3 (alongside my report). Finally, best wishes and thank you to the valued members of our Council, Immediate Past President, Nicholas van Hattem, Junior Vice President and Treasurer, Shayla Strapps, Daniel Coster, Craig Slater, Brooke Sojan, Melita Medcalf and Lea Hiltenkamp, who will be finishing their terms at the end of this year. I would also like to thank Mathew Howard SC and Mark Hemery who both resigned this year.

New Senior Counsel

On behalf of the Law Society, may I again congratulate the practitioners appointed Senior Counsel, as announced by the Hon Peter Quinlan, Chief Justice of Western Australia in October. The appointments are Mr Geoffrey Bourhill, Mr Steven Jones, Mr Darren Renton, Ms Clare Thompson, Mr Griff Ranson, Mr Terry Palmer and Ms Robin Cohen. The Law Society, profession and the community will all benefit from the contribution of these senior lawyers in the role of Senior Counsel. Ms Clare Thompson is a Life Member, and Mr Geoffrey Bourhill and Mr Darren Renton SC are Members of the Law Society. Appointment as Senior Counsel is a rare honour granted to those practitioners who have demonstrated eminence in the practice of law especially in advocacy, together with unquestioned integrity, availability and independence. I wish each of them the very best in their appointments.

Incoming Law Society President Ms Rebecca Lee (left) with current President Jocelyne Boujos (right) at the recent 2021 AGM.

Open Letter to the Legislative Council

On 1 December 2021, I wrote to each member of the Legislative Council regarding the following pieces of uncontroversial but important legislation which are yet to be passed by the Parliament:

Administration Amendment Bill 2021

For more than 30 years when Carmen Laurence, the then Premier stated that this law would be amended, there has always been “more important” legislation to pass – last year it was wheel clamping, this year ticket scalping. No other state disadvantages its community to this extent and in no other State or Territory of Australia is the statutory legacy as low as it is in WA. The current statutory legacy is simply insufficient where the surviving partner is not on the certificate of title for the residential property. The little-known Administration Amendment Bill has had its third reading in Parliament but remains in the Legislative Council. It is inexplicable, particularly in the year when women’s issues have risen to prominence in the public debate that our own Parliament should be so tone deaf as to continue to defer legislating this non-contentious legislative amendment. It is so important for women who are disproportionately impacted by current law because, statistically, they live longer than men. The Law Society had anticipated that the changes would be legislated this year. However, as happened last year, the government wants to prioritise other laws ahead of a law that will change ordinary peoples’ lives. The number of individual members of our community that may be affected by the continued delay are around 20 persons a day. Imagine how many WA citizens could have been helped if the law had been amended 30 years ago when the then Premier, Carmen Laurence said it would be!

Legal Profession Uniform law Application Bill 2021 and legal Profession Uniform Application (levy) Bill 2021

The Law Society has through its website been advising its members and the wider profession that on 23 June 2021 the Legal Profession Uniform Law Application Bill was reintroduced into the Legislative Assembly, following its lapsing before the 2021 State election and that the anticipated commencement date for the Uniform Law was to be 1 January 2022.

The Law Society hoped that these important reforms would be passed through the WA Parliament without delay. Unfortunately, this has not been the case and the Attorney General has been left with no option other than to again change the anticipated commencement date of 1 January 2022 as both the Legal Profession Uniform Law Bill 2021 and the Legal Profession Uniform Application (Levy) Bill 2021 are yet to be passed in the Legislative Council. This legislation will require education of the profession particularly in respect to the costs and disclosure regime and the Law Society is working with the Legal Practice Board to ensure that a smooth transition will occur for the profession. Members can read the open letter here.

Other Advocacy

Since the last edition of Brief, the Law Society has made submissions on:

Workers Compensation and Injury

Management Bill 2021 – (Consultation Draft)

Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Bill 2021

Amendments to Sentencing Legislation

Conditional Cost Agreements under the

Uniform Law

The status of Registrars as public servants

Security of Payment draft regulations Statutory Review of the Home Burglary Act WA Law Reform Commission review of the Equal Opportunity Act

Thank you for your valuable feedback

We received an overwhelming response to our largest survey campaign which closed on 22 November. We asked you to give us 6 minutes of your precious time and we received over 5,000 minutes of open, honest and direct perspectives. Thank you to all who gave the Law Society your valuable time.

Your insights are a gift as now we have a strong idea what we are doing really well, and we know what you want to see more of and indeed, less of.

Your contributions have given us insights that will inform our brand, marketing and communication strategies which will be reviewed and developed early in 2022. Watch this space!

Thank You and Best Wishes

Finally, on a personal note, it has been an honour and a privilege to serve as President of the Law Society. I would like to thank and congratulate my great Executive team, my engaged Council members, our very helpful advisory committees, and dedicated staff whose outstanding work drives the Law Society through today’s challenging landscape and ensures it remains a strong advocate for the legal profession. No President can function without you. A special thank you to our exceptional Chief Executive Officer David Price for his support and encouragement in making the past year a rewarding and productive year for me personally and the Law Society as an organisation.

Most, importantly, I would like to thank all our Law Society members for their ongoing loyal support. It has never been more important as the peak professional membership body to stand strong with members and the profession, working in collaboration, on the future of the profession and the maintaining of equitable administration of justice in our community. Because of your support, the Law Society is proud to continue to be your voice to promote the development and improvement of law throughout Western Australia and assist you in meeting your varied and increasingly demanding practice and professional obligations. My takeaway from our COVID years I hope will be Strength, Clarity and Optimism:

Strength – look what each of us collectively and individually have overcome; Clarity – we learned to focus equally on the important and the urgent – rather than just the ever demanding urgent; Optimism – which I believe has been and will be a major driver in overcoming COVID issues, as we now know that we, and the legal system, can adapt quickly and sensibly and will continue to do so going forward into our COVID Future.

I wish everyone a safe, restful and joyous Christmas holiday season, and the very best for the New Year.