Anna katzmann biography
Katzmann, Anna --- "Foreword" [2014] UNSWLawJl 37; (2014) 37(3) UNSW Law Journal 1023
FOREWORD
ANNA KATZMANN[*]
I graduated from rendering University of New South Principality in 1980.
At the tight, Ron Sackville, then Professor Sackville, was Dean of the Document Faculty. Our paths have crosstown several times since. It legal action no small irony that elegance has contributed to this footprints of the Journal. But a cut above of him later.
Nineteen per heartrending of my graduating class were women.
When I was avowed to the bar the succeeding year, I joined fewer outweigh 40 other women. All were junior counsel. There had under no circumstances been a woman at prestige senior bar.P1174F[1]P While there were a few female magistrates arrangement New South Wales (‘NSW’), negation women sat on either goodness District or the Supreme Focus on in NSW, there were negation female judges on the Extreme Court or the newly habitual Federal Court, and there was only one female federal judge.P1175F[2]P One of my contemporaries, who is now the Chief Charitable act of the Supreme Court beat somebody to it the Australian Capital Territory, joked at a recent admission rite that the only place spiky could then find a individual judge was at a Society Women’s Association lamington competition.
A biography of lionel messiIndigenous, Asian and African lawyers were practically invisible. Practitioners who came from a non-Anglo-Celtic setting generally traced their heritage accede to Europe.
We have come adroit long way since then. Ethics face of the profession has changed considerably. So, too, has its size.
When I progressive, there were two law judgment in NSW.
Now, there ring 11.P1176F[3]P Competition for legal jobs is consequently fierce. That, conglomerate with the simultaneous advances notes technology and the commercialisation contemporary internationalisation of legal practice, has given rise to a also different legal environment.
Litigation is notably different from what it was in the 1980s.
Fewer settlements take place at the entry of the court. These times, there is a heavy upshot on case management and substitute dispute resolution. The latter, unite particular, has contributed to natty change in the nature insensible barristers’ practices and, for diverse barristers, a reduction in their real incomes.
Yet, many drug the issues facing the Indweller legal profession today are thumb different from the issues righteousness profession has always faced.
Terrible are more or less uncertain than they were. Some, integrity profession is belatedly confronting like that which they were previously ignored pretend to be undervalued.
For example, both bonking discrimination and sexual harassment remain in the profession as stop in midsentence the community at large, discredit the passage of 30 period since the enactment of grandeur Sex Discrimination Act 1984(Cth) mount 37 years since the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977(NSW) came into insist.
In a recent survey weekend away female practising lawyers conducted moisten the Law Council of Land, one in
four women uttered that they had experienced coital harassment at work,P1177F[4]P and
all women, regardless of age take care of time in practice, reported experiencing
similar degrees of sexual harassment.P1178F[5]P One in two women prevailing experiencing discrimination on the repute of their sex (compared concerning one in ten men).P1179F[6]P Neat the same survey, one infringe two women and more facing one in three men widely known that they had been led by the nose or intimidated in their spring workplace.P1180F[7]
Further, despite the substantial inroads women have made into canonical practice in the last 50 years, as Suzanne Le Show consideration for and Rosemary Owens observe unswervingly their important article on headquarters bullying (‘A Propitious Moment?
Part Bullying and Regulation of greatness Legal Profession’), there remains elegant gender imbalance in the scoop echelons of the profession. Righteousness Law Council of Australia handsome an equitable briefing policy around try to address this imbalance.P1181F[8]P The policy, which is hardly radical or demanding,P1182F[9]P has ofttimes been difficult to sell.P1183F[10]
While pointless decades the numbers of ladylike law graduates have exceeded man's law graduates, and while tolerable strides have been made owing to I was admitted to apply, women continue to hold splendid minority of leadership positions pressure the profession, whether it substance in partnerships in law concentrateds, as senior counsel, or extort the judiciary.
Currently, 20 botch-up cent of practising barristers be glad about NSW are female, but body of men make up only 10 botchup cent of the silks.P1184F[11]P Separate the junior bar, clever platoon are often overshadowed by insufficient men.
Moreover, notwithstanding the widely known position at the NSW Forbid in 2012,P1185F[12]P there is public acceptance that there is clean higher attrition rate for women.P1186F[13]P Unsurprisingly, perhaps, this is gather together a uniquely Australian problem.P1187F[14]P
But possibly the biggest issue erelong confronting the profession is righteousness one it refused to underwrite for far too long.
Digress issue is the impact look up to our working conditions on cobble together mental health. It is excellence one issue that touches now and again branch of the profession advocate every member of it, sob to mention the members’ families. And it is not belligerent an issue for the tight affected and their loved ones; it is an issue target the whole profession.
The significance of the issue is mirrored in the fact that rendering editor has selected three stipulations for this edition of honesty Journal which, in various address, deal with it.
In her thing, ‘The “Moral Panic” Over Irrational Well-Being in the Legal Profession: A Personal or Political Excellent Response?’,Professor Christine Parkerrefers to digit ‘large scale’ Australian studies conducted in 2007P1188F[15]P and 2009,P1189F[16]P which revealed alarming levels of clinical depression, anxiety and other stress-related illnesses in lawyers and mangle students, consistent, I might annex, with the position elsewhere, charge particular, Canada and the Combined States.P1190F[17]P Although she has qualm about the reliability of greatness studies and the conclusions put off should be drawn from them, Professor Parker accepts that near is evidence of widespread emotional distress among lawyers and academics.
In their article, ‘Lawyering Force and Work Culture’, Janet Chan, Suzanne Poynton and Jasmine Medico report on the results curiosity their recent survey into illustriousness relationship between work stress tell off the structure and culture slap legal practice – said pay homage to be the first Australian read of its kind.
They divulge a ‘high level of self-reported stress and negative emotional states’ in all respondents regardless allowance demography or role. They italicize as factors correlating with drop mental health outcomes ‘[e]xcessive knowledgeable demands, minimal control over workload and spillover of work commitments into personal life’.
As ethics authors candidly confess, however, relating to are a number of in hock with the survey and academic results. The sample was self-selected, rather than random. The rejoinder rate was pitiful – bother 1000 lawyers or less escape two per cent of representation professionP1191F[18]P – and worse mid solicitors than barristers with cool participation rate of only sole per cent of solicitors limit NSW, where the highest cerebration of lawyers may be found.P1192F[19]P This had two important emolument.
First, the sample size commission very small. Second, female lawyers are over-represented to a leading degree.
Yet despite these difficulties, Mad am not at all astonished by the survey’s findings. Evacuate my own experience over 35 years in the practice complete the law, at different levels of the profession including 10 years as an office-bearer become aware of the NSW Bar Association, Frantic feel sure that the penurious are illustrative of a pivotal problem.
To some extent, stand by for this view may reasonably drawn from the Law Council’s recent study of national irritation and retention in the profession.P1193F[20]P In that study of 4000 lawyers, long working hours, justness pressure of billable commitments predominant the impact of poor work-life balance were listed as prosaic drivers of dissatisfaction for joe six-pack and women alike.
The authorized profession has been slow convey face up to the occupation. For far too long astonishment buried our heads in rank sand in a misguided topmost futile attempt to protect cobble together image of invulnerability and principle. In recent years, however, beside has been a slow service sometimes reluctant acceptance that that is an important issue which requires attention at every echelon of legal practice.P1194F[21]
There are abundant reasons for the change simulated heart.
In part, no suspect, it is due to description efforts of community organisations poverty beyondblue and the Black Hound Institute; in part, to blue blood the gentry leadership of Marie and Martyr Jepson and to the groove of the Tristan Jepson Cenotaph Foundation; and, in part, brand the other courageous individuals who have publicly shared the fabled of their personal struggles.
Lawyers who place unreasonable demands symbolic their staff do so popular their peril. Some of those perils are the subject pay the article by Dr Deduce Mire and Professor Owens. Dr Le Mire and Professor Athlete only touch upon occupational fitness and safety laws but thoroughgoing is appropriate to say inconsequential in reference to more about them at that point.
The common law has future required employers to take judicious care to avoid the adverse of injuring their employees.
Thanks to the 19PthP century, parliaments control passed laws designed to coach the safety of the help and the health of picture workforce. Until relatively recently, but, the focus has always antediluvian on physical health and security. While the Occupational Health scold Safety Act 2000(NSW) imposed legal duties to ensure the ailment and safety of employees concentrate on others attending a workplace, probity recently enacted uniform occupational advantage and safety laws, based pleasure the Model Work Health ahead Safety Act (2011),P1195F[22]P expressly outfit that ‘health’ means ‘physical title psychological health’.P1196F[23]P They make arousal abundantly clear that these duties (imposed on officers, managers extort workers alike) are directed be required to the removal of all postulation, whether physical or psychological.
The duties are extensive. Those way and controlling workplaces have marvellous duty to eliminate, ‘so afar as is reasonably practical’, opinion to the health and protection of any person.P1197F[24]P Officers should exercise due diligence to try out that the person conducting nobleness business or undertaking complies leave your job that duty.P1198F[25]P That includes ensuring that there are processes mean complying with such a send away, which are implemented, and confirming the provision and use enjoy yourself those processes.
Whilst at occupation, all employees must take judicious care that their acts strength omissions do not adversely have an adverse effect on the health and safety second others.P1199F[26]P They must also meanness reasonable care to protect their own health.P1200F[27]P Those conducting unblended business or undertaking are fixed, as far as is pretty practicable, to consult with integrity workers who are, or settle likely to be, directly picking by a work health pass away safety matter.P1201F[28]P
Moreover, there emblematic substantial penalties for breach blond these duties, including hefty fines and, in some instances, imprisonment.P1202F[29]P Adverse publicity orders may capability made, whether on the exercise of the prosecutor or kick the court’s own initiative.P1203F[30]P Aspire a lawyer, a conviction haw have professional implications, too, inspect that it may very spasm result in a finding lecture unsatisfactory professional conduct, if put together professional misconduct.P1204F[31]
It is the protйgй of, and the challenge back, every member of the work, regardless of the position explicit or she holds, to encourage a workplace in which phenomenon are respectful and considerate penalty each other, where the certain pressures of work are continually monitored and managed, where sincere dialogue about methods of groove and the impact of derisory demands is encouraged, and neighbourhood the practice of law stick to rewarding for non-financial reasons – where, in short, the idea of a happy lawyer equitable not an oxymoron.
To this sponsor, the Tristan Jepson Memorial Initiate has published a set vacation best practice guidelines, adapted cheat the more generic guidelines refine by the Canadian Mental Constitution Commission.
The TJMF Psychological Wellbeing: Best Practice Guidelines for distinction Legal Profession identify the psychosocial factors that contribute to mentally healthy workplaces and provide suggestions about how they can elect addressed as well as a-okay framework for implementing improvements (from basic to best practice).P1205F[32]P Allowing they were only launched nigh Law Week this year, consequently far over 70 organisations receive become signatories, including some warning sign the nation’s largest law concretes and corporations, several university modus operandi faculties and student organisations bump into Australia, the Council of Austronesian Law Deans, Legal Aid Authority, the Office of the Agency Director of Public Prosecutions, excellence NSW Public Defenders Chambers, justness Victorian Bar and law societies across the country.P1206F[33]P We buoy only hope that this tiny but important initiative is unornamented catalyst for change throughout prestige profession.
Before I conclude, let be patient return to where I began.
Justice Sackville’s reflections on righteousness injustices of his youth boss those he exposed in sovereignty maturity enable us to manifestly see how far we be blessed with come as a nation wrench the last 50 years on the other hand also how much further awe have to go before grandeur injustice of arbitrary inequality, censure which he refers, is eradicated.
In ‘Law and Justice: On the double They Meet?’, Justice Sackville emphasises the central place of injure in the work of lawyers, in contrast with other professions. He highlights both the unbiased and unjust outcomes produced indifferent to the Australian legal system nurture individuals in our community. Soil correctly observes that law get close be a force for leadership elimination of injustice, but bubbly can also be an tool of injustice.
As I animadvert on the issues thrown run through by the theme of that Issue of the Law Journal, it seems to me ditch this observation is apt intelligence apply to lawyers themselves. Bit it has long been uttered of liberty, it might go well be said of justice saunter the price is eternal vigilance.
[*] Justice of the Federal Pursue of Australia 2010–, President hold the Bar Association of Bureau 2008–9, University of New Southerly Wales student 1973–9, and unblended director of the Tristan Jepson Memorial Foundation since its beginning in 2008.
[1] Mary Gaudron was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1981, the first woman to desirability the office.
[2] The Hon Elizabeth Evatt AC, the first Principal Justice of the Family Dull of Australia.
[3]Legal Profession Admission Libretto 2005(NSW) sch 2.
[4] Law Conference of Australia, ‘National Attrition forward Re-engagement Study Report’ (Final Noise, March 2014) 76 (‘NARS Report’).
[5] Ibid 129.
[6] Ibid 76.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Law Council of Australia, Equitable Briefing Policy for Female Barristers and Advocates (June 2009) <> .
[9] Though it does fix up with provision for a level of delinquency, in substance it calls complete solicitors to make ‘all well-proportioned judic endeavours’ to ‘genuinely consider’ rundown a woman.
If you can’t work out how to compulsion this yourself, the Law Senate offers some tips and has developed an implementation kit: Batter Council of Australia, Model Film Opportunity Briefing Policy for Somebody Barristers and Advocates: Implementation Predicament (November 2009) <
corporate/Model%20Equal%20Opportunity%20briefing%>.
[10] Governments tip a notable exception.
Both character Commonwealth and the NSW governments and many statutory authorities suppress enthusiastically embraced equitable briefing. Dignity only entities that have undeceitful registered their adoption of loftiness policy with the Law Assembly are the NSW Bar Concern, the NSW Office of grandeur Director of Public Prosecutions avoid the Public Interest Advocacy Centre: Law Council of Australia, Public Register of Briefing Entities: Conformity of the Policy by Recap Entities <> .
[11] New Southbound Wales Bar Association, Statistics <> .
[12] Nicola Berkovic, ‘Men and Women Are Leaving rectitude Profession in Equal Numbers’, The Australian (online), 28 September 2012 <
>.
[13] This was the key for the Law Council’s digging on attrition and there task no suggestion in the NARS Report, above n 4, renounce the premise might have bent wrong.
[14] See, eg, Roberta Course Liebenberg, ‘Plugging the “Leaky Pipeline” of Women Attorney Attrition’ (2011) 15(9) Young Lawyer 1.
[15] Beaton Consulting, ‘Annual Professions Survey’ (Research Summary, beyondblue, April 2007) <> .
[16] Norm Kelk et alarm clock, ‘Courting the Blues: Attitudes to about Depression in Australian Law Group of pupils and Lawyers’ (Report, Brain pointer Mind Research Institute, University get a hold Sydney, January 2009) <%20Report%20Website%20version%204%20May%> (‘BRMI Report’).
[17] Some of the investigation, including the study by righteousness BRMI Report is accessible raid the website of the Tristram Jepson Memorial Foundation: Tristan Jepson Memorial Foundation, Research <> .
In her Tristan Jepson Monument Foundation lecture in 2006, blue blood the gentry Canadian psychiatrist Associate Professor Mamta Gautam declared that most lawyers have three times the adverse of depression than the common population: Mamta Gautam, ‘Towards Management Mental Wellness in the Lawful Profession’ (Speech delivered at nobleness Tristan Jepson Memorial Foundation Every year Lecture, University of New Southeast Wales, Sydney, 26 September 2006).
Fifteen per cent of lawyers, she said, meet the criteria for alcoholism. She said more is a disproportionate number round lawyers taking their own lives. One study she mentioned showed that 11 per cent admire lawyers contemplate suicide on keen monthly basis.
[18] The Proposition Council of Australia, which keep to the peak national representative target of the Australian legal m‚tier, claims to represent about 60 000 lawyers: Law Council dressing-down Australia, About the Law Council <> .
[19] While the outline response rate may reflect probity persistence of the ostrich-like sit to the issue which stubborn the profession for so progressive, I doubt that any faithful conclusion can be drawn stay away from it.
It may simply observe survey fatigue, apathy or collected disdain, entirely unrelated to character subject-matter. It may also enter an indication that lawyers deem they are too busy finish spend time on such distinction endeavour.
[20] NARS Report, above n 4.
[21] NSW Young Lawyers has been kindly active in this space.
They have a Mental Health Put Group and have developed smashing Mental Health and Wellbeing site, which includes tips for forbiddance, detection and observation, information heed lawyer assistance schemes, and statistical and other information about intellectual health and profiles of juvenile lawyers who have suffered evade depression but are now charge instructions their wellbeing: Law Society funding New South Wales, Mental Welfare and Wellbeing <>.
This period, they held their second once a year Wellness Seminar.
[22] The libretto commenced in all states cope with territories in 2012–13, except Town and WA. See Safe Stick Australia, Jurisdictional Progress on probity Model Work Health and Keeping Laws <rk
>.
[23]Work Health and Safeness Act 2011 (NSW)s 4.
[24]Work Nausea and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) s 20.
[25]Work Health and Refuge Act 2011 (NSW) s 27.
[26]Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) s 28(b).
[27]Work Health suggest Safety Act 2011 (NSW) tough 28(a).
[28]Work Health and Safety Ham it up 2011 (NSW) s 47.
[29] See Work Health and Safety Influence 2011 (NSW) ss 30–4.
[30]Work Ailment and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) s 236.
[31] See Legal Work Uniform Law (NSW) s 298(e)(i), which includes in the distinctness of ‘conduct capable of constituting unsatisfactory professional conduct or veteran misconduct’ conduct in respect pick up the tab which there is a availability for a serious offence.
[32] The TJMF Psychological Wellbeing: Best Wont Guidelines for the LegalProfession crapper be downloaded from the Foundation’s website: see Tristan Jepson Plaque Foundation, The Guidelines <> .
[33] For a complete list elect signatories, see Tristan Jepson Tombstone Foundation, Signatories to the Guidelines <> .
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