BAR COUNCIL ELECTIONS 2016 Dear Colleague, You will have received various correspondence from members of the Bar seeking election to the Bar Council. David Bennett QC, a former President of the Association and Solicitor-General, wrote to you about his deep concem that the Association was no longer a body that was politically neutral and committed, first and foremost, to serving its members. We believe that a strong and independent Bar is itself in the public interest. We seek a return to an Association that focusses first on its members. This Year Those of us on the present Bar Council successfully championed the following outcomes: ‘+ Put before the Government the option of SC having the right to choose “QC” to regain our competitive position nationally and internationally; ‘+ Froze Practising Certificate fees for this year; + The Bar Association, this year, will put before the government a proposal to amend the law to facilitate the return of civil juries. This would not have occurred had we not taken up the proposal; Much has been achieved but much more needs to be done. Next year, if elected to Council, we will take the following steps to get the Association back on track: A New Focus for the Association * Direct more of our resources towards new business development and promotion of the Bar to help members in all practice areas capture new and growing sources of work. * Focus our law reform efforts on areas which matter to the Bar, such as progressing the work that has already been done on reform of the Motor Accidents Act, achieving more funding for Workers Compensation and Legal Aid, more oral evidence and advocacy in civil trials, and proper recognition of ADR as Barristers’ work. + Seek to maintain the freeze on Practising Certificate fees that we achieved this year. + Push for the reforms in the practice of eri others inal law, identified as needed by Sutherland SC and Support for the Inner Bar + We will continue to support Senior Counsel having a right to choose whether to use ‘QC’ in the local, national and international legal market. Securing fees for the whole Bar We will pursue a proposal from the current Treasurer to establish an escrow payment service in tandem with a major bank to secure and speed up the payment of fees and to eliminate the need for separate trust accounts.‘Yours faithfully, David Bennett QC Paul Menzies QC Jeffrey Phillips SC Margaret Cunneen SC Philippe Doyle Gray Ishita Sethi Hamish Stitt ‘We support and recommend that you vote for the following; Michael Williams SC Robert Sutherland SC Danny Feller SC Nigel Cotman SC Gregory Burton SC Mary Walker John Hyde Page ‘Tom Hughes ‘Thomas Bagley Julia Hickelton Justine Hopper David Talintyre Nanette Williams