The Victorian Bar is the bar association 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, 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 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 adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...

, 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 Ha ...

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'' 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 moral principles or 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 certain standards of hu ...

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, Equal opportunity, opportunities, and Social privilege, privileges within a society. In Western Civilization, Western and Culture of Asia, Asian cultures, the concept of social ...

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 liability or criminal conviction. A defense is put forward by a party to defeat ...

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 ...

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, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, ...

or socio-economic hardship.

Equitable Briefing

In 2016, the Victorian Bar endorsed th
National Model Gender Equitable Briefing Policy
launched by the Law Council of Australia 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 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 ...

, disability and accessibility, and

, ethnicity 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 c ...

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