Artists and musicians have the unique opportunity to participate in justice by creating artworks and compositions that highlight experiences or reflections upon the concept of justice and our justice system.

The President of The Law Society of NSW, Doug Humphreys, says The Law Society’s Just Art and Just Music competitions are open not only to solicitors and law students but also to anyone who shares a motivation for justice.

Just Art and Just Music give the legal profession and lovers of justice the chance to celebrate the rule of law through a creative medium,” he said.

It is an opportunity to reflect critically on the strengths and vulnerabilities of the justice system through art and music.”

Artwork can be in any form – painting, printing, sculpture or photography while music compositions can be from any genre – classical, folk, contemporary or rap.

Finalists will be showcased at two charity events in Sydney later this year: a music concert for Just Music and an art exhibition for Just Art where artworks will be available for purchase.

A percentage of proceeds from each event will be donated to the President’s 2018 Charity, The Butterfly Foundation.

Both music and art submissions can be made online.

Further Information

Entries close: 31 May 2018.

More details can be found on the Law Society of NSW website.

There is nothing so delightfully raw and primal as watching a group of Australia’s best young lawyers tongue-lash each other at the National Golden Gavel competition.

Hosted by comedian James Smith, the National Gavels, which took place on Friday 20 October 2017, is more than just a hardcore legal industry public speaking event. It’s a battle of wits and a rare opportunity for the industry to let its hair down, to exchange friendly fire (sometimes pointed mud-slinging other times fully fledged, no holds barred attacks), and to see who spars supreme and who cracks in the extreme.

As if the stakes weren’t already high enough for this year’s silver-tongued Golden Gavel State champions, NSW Young Lawyers, who hosted an absolutely flawless evening, decided to up the ante for competitors by sticking everyone on a glass-walled boat cruising Sydney Harbour.

The competition rules are simple:

• Step 1: Receive your topic 24-hours before the National Gavels competition
• Step 2: Try not to have a coronary
• Step 3: Pull together a pithy, witty and ironic speech that stretches the limits of political correctness without compromising a long and prosperous career in the law (40% for humour; 30% for cleverness and originality; 30% for performance)
• Step 4: Comply with a 5-minute time limit
• Step 5: Enter the arena, show no weakness, and as NSW finalist, Floyd Alexander-Hunt’s, mum advised her:

Take down the competition!”

We’ve mentioned previously that the Golden Gavels is a spectator sport held in front of peers, colleagues and industry big wigs (puns are fun).

Poking fun and creating a dialogue around entrenched lawyer stereotypes and legal protocols are welcomed. But contestants must be careful to toe the line without crossing it as Barnaby Grant soon discovered when his light-hearted comment asking “are women people?” resulted in him being gently reminded by The Honourable Justice Lucy McCallum that three out of four competition judges were, in fact, female.

Needless to say, Barnaby didn’t win.

So without further ado, here are just a few of our favourite contestants:

Elly Phelan – Queensland

Topic: Lawyers in a post-apocalyptic world, or how I learned to stop worrying and love the law.

Barnaby Grant – South Australia

Topic: Trial by combat and other good alternatives to modern litigation.

Floyd Alexander-Hunt – New South Wales (represent!)

Topic: Can you imagine a world without lawyers?

Congratulations to Floyd for taking out the Patron’s Choice Award!

Conor O’Bryan – Victoria

Topic: CVs, tender pitches, and other works of offiction.

Congratulations to Conor for taking our the runner-up prize!

Micah Kickett – Northern Territory

Topic: How to speak conversational legalese in one easy lesson.

Huge congratulations to Micah for winning this year’s National Gavels with an epic performance (including rap battle sequence).

In her welcome speech, Renee Bianchi, Law Council of Australia’s Young Lawyers Committee said:

The event is part of the calendar of events of the Law Council of Australia’s Young Lawyers Committee (LCA YLC). The LCA YLC is an advisory committee of the Law Council. It represents young lawyers at a national level and advises the Law Council on issues affecting, and matters of concern to, Australian young lawyers. The LCA YLC is responsible for the coordination of the National Golden Gavel and the Australian Young Lawyer Awards, however, each year they are hosted by a different State.”

This year’s event is hosted by NSW Young Lawyers, a division of the Law Society of NSW. It is wonderful to have this event back in NSW after some time.”

Australian Young Lawyer Awards 2017

The National Gavels also includes the presentation of the Individual and Organisation categories of the Australian Young Lawyer Awards.

Congratulations to this year’s winner, 29-year-old commercial lawyer, James Skelton, who took out the 2017 Australian Young Lawyer Award.

Law Council of Australia President, Fiona McLeod SC, praised Mr Skelton’s contribution:

James is an incredibly dynamic and accomplished young lawyer well deserving of this honour.”

Congratulations to the 2017 Australian Young Lawyer Award (Organisation) winners, the NSW Young Lawyers Human Rights Committee, for its Refugee Assistance Project (RAP).

The RAP provides form-filling assistance to asylum seekers and refugees who are subject to the Fast Track Assessment process and might otherwise find the entire process impossible,” Ms McLeod said.

The RAP has done tremendous work in assisting asylum seekers and refugees to exercise their right to seek asylum.

Bring on next year!

Today, the Council of the Law Society of NSW has acknowledged that there is a diversity of opinion within the profession and the Council on the topic of same-sex marriage and respects those opinions.

This comes after Law Society of NSW President, Pauline Wright, came under fire in early September for refusing to apologise and withdraw the Law Society’s endorsement of same-sex marriage because she failed to consult the Law Society’s 29,000 members.

On 14 September, the Council resolved to reinforce public statements made by Ms Wright, that the Law Society respects the divergent and deeply held views of individual members on same-sex marriage.

Ms Wright said that the Council also urged a respectful debate on the issue of same-sex marriage.

Members of the Law Society are encouraged to vote in the postal survey as their conscience dictates.

While the Council of the Law Society has expressed its support for the introduction of laws to enable same-sex marriage, it also supports a courteous, considerate and fair debate on this important issue,” Ms Wright said.

The Law Society expressed its support for the introduction of laws to enable same-sex marriage in order to address current discrimination and inequality before the law, she said.

We are committed to ensuring all Australians have the right to equality and non-discrimination.

People should not be treated differently under the law solely because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.” Ms Wright said.

Ms Wright says that she consistently emphasised that everyone is entitled to their perspective and that no person should be discriminated against or vilified because of their view.

It is also important the rights we all presently enjoy, including freedom of speech and freedom of religion, should remain unaffected by any proposed laws to enable same-sex couples to enter a civil marriage,” she said.

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