The Victorian Bar is the

bar association A bar association is a professional association of lawyers as generally organized in countries following the Anglo-American types of jurisprudence. The word bar is derived from the old English/European custom of using a physical railing to separ ...

of the

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

State State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. The current President of the Bar is Roisin Annesley KC. Its members are barristers registered to practice in Victoria. On 30 June 2020, there were 2,179 counsels practising as members of the Victorian Bar. Those who have been admitted to practice by the

Supreme Court of Victoria The Supreme Court of Victoria is the highest court in the Australian state of Victoria. Founded in 1852, it is a superior court of common law and equity, with unlimited and inherent jurisdiction within the state. The Supreme Court comprises ...

, are eligible to join the Victorian Bar after sitting an entrance exam and completing a Bar readers' course. The Victorian Bar is affiliated with the

Australian Bar Association The Australian Bar Association (ABA) is the peak body representing more than 6,000 barristers throughout Australia. The ABA was established in 1963 to serve, promote and represent its members, and advocate for fair and equal justice for all. ...

and is a member of the

Law Council of Australia The Law Council of Australia, founded in 1933, is an association of law societies and bar associations from the states and territories of Australia, and the peak body representing the legal profession in Australia. The Law Council represents mo ...

. The first association of barristers in Victoria was formed in 1884, although the first barristers admitted to practice in

were appointed in 1841. On 20 June 1900, an official Bar Council was established, and a Bar Roll was started. By 1902, all barristers practicing in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

had signed the Roll. To this day, new barristers sign the Roll when they are admitted to the Bar. As of June 2019, 30% of barristers at the Victorian Bar were

women A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or Adolescence, adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female hum ...

, and women made up 43% of those with less than 10 years of practising at the Bar. In 2019, 15% of members were born outside of Australia and 18 languages other than

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

were spoken at home. Six women have served as Chairs or Presidents of the Bar, including the current President, Roisin

Annesley Annesley is a village and civil parish in the Ashfield district of Nottinghamshire, England, between Hucknall and Kirkby-in-Ashfield. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 1,162 (including Annesley Woodhouse to the west). Annesley Hall ...

KC,

Susan Crennan Susan Maree Crennan (née Walsh; born 1 July 1945), is a former Justice of the High Court of Australia, the highest court in the Australian court hierarchy. Early life and education Crennan was born in Melbourne, one of six children born to W ...

AC KC, Kate McMillian SC (now the Honourable Justice McMillian),

Melanie Sloss Melanie Sloss is an Australian Judge in the Trial Division of the Supreme Court of Victoria and sits as a judge of the Commercial Court. Sloss was first admitted to practice in Western Australia in 1980 and in Victoria in 1985. She was appoi ...

SC (now the Honourable Justice Sloss),

Fiona McLeod Fiona Grace McLeod (born 3 December 1957) is a Scottish politician who served as acting Minister for Children and Young People from 2014 to 2015. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she was Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) f ...

SC, Jennifer Batrouney KC, and the immediate past-President Wendy Harris KC. The President before Harris was Dr Matthew Collins AM KC.

Pro Bono Scheme

In 2000, the Victorian Bar launched a

Legal Assistance Scheme Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

in association with the

Public Interest Law Clearing House The Public Interest Law Clearing House (PILCH) was a not-for-profit legal referral service, operated from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was founded in 1994, following the model of New York Lawyers for the Public Interest. PILCH coordinate ...

, to coordinate ''

pro bono ( en, 'for the public good'), usually shortened to , is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. In the United States, the term typically refers to provision of legal services by legal professionals for pe ...

'' work among barristers in Victoria. Chief Justice of Australia Murray Gleeson praised the Bar for its effort in "''making access to justice not only a catch-phrase but a practical reality for many people".'' The Legal Assistance Scheme, now operating as the
Pro Bono Scheme
(the Scheme) and PILCH, now operating as ''
Justice Connect
'', has approximately 10,000 participants from the Victorian Bar. Overseen by the Pro Bono Committee, the Scheme assists both individuals and community groups. This work includes advocating for

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

environmental A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...

social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has often referred to the process of ensuring that individuals fu ...

causes, and helping people who are marginalized, or from disadvantaged backgrounds. The premise of the Scheme is to ensure that everyone has access to

legal representation In a civil proceeding or criminal prosecution under the common law or under statute, a defendant may raise a defense (or defence) in an effort to avert civil legal liability, liability or criminal conviction. A defense is put forward by a par ...

regardless of age,

gender Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures u ...

race Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to: * Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species * Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...

disability Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be Cognitive disability, cognitive, Developmental disability, dev ...

or socio-economic hardship.

Equitable Briefing

In 2016, the Victorian Bar endorsed th
National Model Gender Equitable Briefing Policy
launched by the

to achieve a nationally consistent approach towards bringing about cultural and attitudinal change within the legal profession concerning gender briefing practices. The Victorian Bar has also adopted the Law Council’s Diversity and Equality Charter. The Commercial Bar Association of Victoria, members of the Judiciary and the

Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission The Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission is a statutory authority in the Australian state of Victoria. It replaced the Equal Opportunity Board , set up by Victorian Premier Dick Hamer Sir Rupert James Hamer, (29 July ...

have also launched the CommBar Equitable Briefing Initiative to increase briefing of women at all levels and to engage with the law firms that brief the Commercial Bar to commit to real change. In 2018/19, the Bar Council established three new working groups to broaden the conversation about diversity at the Bar to include

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

, disability and

accessibility Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" (i. ...

, and

ethnicity An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

and

cultural diversity Cultural diversity is the quality of diverse or different cultures, as opposed to monoculture, the global monoculture, or a homogenization of cultures, akin to cultural evolution. The term "cultural diversity" can also refer to having different cu ...

International legal practitioners

All

lawyers A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solicitor, ...

in Australia must first be admitted to practice. In Victoria, the process for admission is conducted by th
Victorian Legal Board of Admissions
(VLAB).

Chairman and Presidents of the Victorian Bar

References

External links