From the President
It is a pleasure to be providing my first update and an honour to be your President for the 2022/23 term. I would like to thank Simon Gates, Immediate Past President for his significant contribution to the role in the past 12 months. In particular the work Simon did with the law school and University of Tasmania was highly appreciated by the students, profession and judiciary. Thank you for your service Simon.
I would like to thank retiring Council members Ian Arendt and Trevor McKenna (former President) on their significant contributions to Council. I am sad to see them both go and have had the benefit of their involvement on Council for many years. Congratulations to Julia Higgins and Alison Wells on their elections to Vice President and Treasurer and Executive members, Amelia Higgs, Carey Higgins, Simon Gates and Robert Hegarty. Welcome to new members Luke Taylor and Imogen Cook who I know will be efficient and valuable members of Council.
ABC Hobart contacted me for comment regarding the resignation of Vincenzo Caltabiano. That resignation came as a surprise and I congratulate him on his appointment to the Magistrates Court of Victoria. Vincenzo has worked closely and well with the Society since he commenced in the role in 2019. I wish him all the best in his role.
I appeared on ABC radio with Mel Bush on the morning of 19 October 2022 and the Mercury and Advocate have done articles on my appointment to the role. The Society has met with the profession in many different forums and the key message we are getting is there is a skills shortage. Attraction and retention have been a continued theme for some years now but has undoubtedly increased since COVID. While I do not proport to have all of the answers, I am keen to work with firms and other members of the profession to see what can be done in this space. The mental health of our members is another primary concern of mine.
I have nominated the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation as my nominated charity. This is for two reasons, the tragic but inspiring story Council member Amelia Higgs has been through and the untimely death of my grandmother who died from ovarian cancer at just 45. Amelia has been doing an impressive campaign for Froctkober 2022 and if you would like to donate, please see the attached link Frocktober – Amelia Higgs.
I look forward to being your President for 2022. If you have any concerns, please contact myself or any members of Council. They are all there as elected representatives and eager to hear your concerns.
Amanda Thompson
President of The Law Society of Tasmania 2022-2023
From the President
You may have seen the Law Society’s Media release in respect of the closure of the Burnie Registry of the Federal Circuit and Family Court Registry for the North West. The news has concerned the Society and many members of our profession. It was disappointing that the Society was not consulted about the closure of the facilities for the ‘foreseeable future’. We have requested a meeting with the Court and will report [...]
From the President
It was great to be back in my home town of Devonport for the North West President’s drinks last Friday. As usual, the NW practitioners braved the cold with about 40 members attending the ethics CPD event and the same number having drinks/dinner at Mrs Jones restaurant which was a fabulous turn out. Thank you to those members of the profession that came, members of Council that travelled for the event [...]
From the President
I trust you all had a restful Easter which seems like a distant memory now. On 3 April 2023 I had the pleasure of attending the opening and being invited to speak at the Launceston Registry of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 1) and the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2) at Henty House, 1 Civic Square, Launceston. This was a significant occasion for the [...]
The Law Society President’s New Email Address
Amanda Thompson, President of The Law Society of Tasmania can be contacted at her new email address - president@lst.org.au. Confidential Communications: Please note this email is also monitored by Law Society Administration. For confidential communications, please mark confidential in subject line and include your confidential communication as an attachment.
From the President
On 3 March 2023 Executive Director, Luke Rheinberger and I met with the University of Tasmania to discuss matters at the Law School generally but specifically attraction and retention issues, in both the regions and metropolitan areas. It is evident that both the private profession and government are struggling to recruit and importantly retain both professional and administrative staff. All parties agreed that dealing with these issues from law school is a [...]
From the President
Its now 2023 and the legal year is in full swing. The ‘official’ start of the legal year was marked by the key events the Opening of the Legal Year Church Service, the Judges’ Breakfast and the Legal Profession Dinner. It was fantastic to see so many at the Legal Profession Dinner. I thank all that attended that event and hope you had an enjoyable evening. Thank you to all of the [...]