Speech to the Queensland Law Society Legal Profession Dinner 2022
Speech delivered by Mr Tass Liveris, Law Council of Australia President, at the Queensland Law Society Legal Profession Dinner in Brisbane, 1 April 2022.
"Good evening.
Your Honours, distinguished guests, fellow members of the profession, it is an honour to be with you tonight. I would like to thank your Executive and Council, particularly President, Kara Thomson for inviting me to speak with you.
Firstly, I would like to acknowledge the Traditional Owners of country on which we all meet, and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and community. I pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging, and extend that respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples here today.
This is such a strong Law Society with a proud culture of volunteering and contributing to the profession for the benefit of the community and has been such valued contributor to Law Council submissions. I thank each and every one of you. Through the Queensland Law Society (QLS), your work plays an important role in shaping the voice of the Australian legal profession. That voice is directly informed by the work that you all do and your lived experiences in all the circumstances of your practices.
It is important for the Law Council to keep hearing all of your stories, because they are central to the Law Council’s work in representing the 90,000 barristers and solicitors in practice in Australia today through their law societies and bar associations. It shapes the Law Council’s work for the improvement of the law and the administration of justice and its support for all Australian law societies, bar associations and in turn the legal profession at large.
Your work, your experiences, have shaped seminal pieces of work that have played central roles in changing conversations – I am referring to the National Attrition and Re-engagement Survey, which investigated the progression, attrition, and re-engagement rates of lawyers; I am referring to the Justice Project, a national, comprehensive review into the state of access to justice in Australia for people experiencing significant disadvantage and also the Lawyer Project, which highlights the value of the legal profession to the community and to the social, economic and political health of the nation."
Read the full speech below.
Last Updated on 21/04/2022