- Appointment of Members for ILSAC’s seventh term
- ILSAC Statistics Survey 2008-09
- Working together - the Australian-Chinese legal profession
- Shanghai World Expo 2010
- Australia-China Legal Profession Development Program
- Legal Education Symposium 2010
- APEC Legal Services Initiative
- New Chair of the International Legal Services Advisory Council
- A Celebration of 19 years service to ILSAC
Appointment of members for ILSAC’s seventh term
The Hon Robert McClelland MP, Attorney-General, recently appointed members to the ILSAC Council who will serve until 30 June 2013. The members will assist ILSAC Chair, Mr Tim Bugg in progressing ILSAC’s goals during its seventh term.
See details of the appointment and the Attorney-General’s media release.
ILSAC’s Statistics Survey 2008-09
ILSAC released its third Statistics Survey covering the Australian legal export market and international activity for the 2008-09 financial year.
The key findings from the Survey are:
- Total income from export of legal services and international activities in 2008-09 was $709.1m. This was a 5% increase since 2006-07 ($675.1m) and a 31% increase since 2004-05 ($543.2m).
- The top six markets in order of total export and international activity were: US & Canada, China & Hong Kong, Europe (excluding UK), UK, Pacific (including New Zealand but excluding Australia) and Singapore.
- The top four areas of work done by Australian legal and related service providers were Intellectual Property, Information Technology and Telecommunications (28%), Corporate (25%), Litigation (10.7%) and Banking and Finance (7.1%).
- Cross-border supply was the most favoured mode of service for all types of work except for energy and resources work and arbitration work.
- Law firms delivered 75% of legal and related services overseas, patent and trademark attorneys delivered 21% of legal and related services overseas.
The Survey is available on the ILSAC statistics webpage and the Chairman’s press release on 25 March 2011 is available from ILSAC's Third International Legal Services Statistics Survey (2008-09) webpage.
Working together —the Australian-Chinese legal profession
The Law Institute of Victoria will host an event from 6.00pm to 8.00pm on 2 June 2010 to develop links between the Australian and Chinese legal professions. Four Australia-China Legal Profession Development Program participants: Madam Zhang Dan, Madam Wang Qinghua (Jennifer), Xie Li (Shirley), and Dr. Lin Guanghua, will give presentations on the Chinese legal system, private law firms in China and foreign investment and trade opportunities.
Further details are available at the Law Institute of Victoria website.
Shanghai World Expo 2010
The Attorney-General’s Department will hold a legal program at the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai to showcase Australia’s expertise in legal and related services. The World Expo is expected to draw over 70 to 80 million visitors, with 7 to 8 million visiting the Australian Pavilion. It is seen as a big drawcard in China, equivalent to the Beijing Olympics.
Four events will be held in the Australian Pavilion: a legal services dinner on 15 July, an arbitration forum, and legal education dinner on 16, and the Sino-Australian Law Deans Conference on 17 July. A high level delegation will attend the Expo. Any queries should be directed to shanghaiexpo@ag.gov.au.
Legal services dinner
The dinner, co-hosted by the Department and Austrade, will bring together key figures from Chinese law firms and in-house counsel and representatives of Australian law firms with an interest in China.
The dinner is a valuable opportunity for Australian and Chinese businesses to explore how to best use lawyers to maximise their opportunities in the global marketplace. Speakers include Mr Kevin McCann AM, Director of Macquarie Bank and Origin Energy and Mr Zili Shao, Chairman and CEO of JP Morgan China. Mr Shao’s speech will discuss emerging trends in legal services in China and Mr McCann’s speech will focus on the benefits of Australian and Chinese lawyers working together on international matters.
Arbitration forum
On Friday morning, the Department will host a forum to promote Australian arbitrators and mediators as well the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (ACICA). The introduction of amendments to the International Arbitration Act 1974, and the establishment of the Australian International Disputes Centre emphasises Australia’s continued status as a hospitable location for dispute resolution services.
The forum will include three guest speakers who will highlight the Australian Government’s support for more use of Alternative Dispute Resolution strategies, an attractive legal environment and reliable enforcement regime, and the expertise and capacity of Australia’s arbitrators.
ACICA and ILSAC are event supporters of the Arbitration Forum.
Legal education dinner
Although Australia and China differ in many ways, both share a high regard for excellence in tertiary education. In legal education, Australia and China already benefit from strong existing links in legal education as they strive to prepare lawyers for practise in an increasingly global environment. In this context, the legal education dinner is an opportune time for Australia and China to further consolidate links in legal education by engaging with their shared goal of preparing lawyers for international practice.
The dinner will feature presentations by Australian and Chinese legal academics and a keynote speaker from the legal profession.
The Council of Australian Law Deans (CALD) and ILSAC are event supporters of the Legal Education Dinner.
Sino-Australian Law Deans Conference
With the increasingly international character of legal practice, developments in information technology, and the emergence of Asian economies like China, legal education and training is undergoing rapid change worldwide. The second Sino-Australian Law Deans Conference will bring together leading legal educators from China and Australia to engage with these current international issues.
CALD and ILSAC are event supporters of the Conference.
The Australia-China Legal Profession Development Program 2010
With the increasingly international character of legal practice, developments in information technology, and the emergence of Asian economies like China, legal education and training is undergoing rapid change worldwide. The second Sino-Australian Law Deans Conference will bring together leading legal educators from China and Australia to engage with these current international issues. CALD and ILSAC are event supporters of the Conference.
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In February this year, a delegation of 10 Chinese lawyers arrived in Australia to attend the fourth Australia-China Legal Profession Development Program.
The Secretary welcomed the participants and provided them with an overview of the Australian Government, the legal system and the role of the Department. The lawyers also attended a dinner that evening hosted by the Law Council of Australia.
The aim of the program is to foster an increased level of legal cooperation and promote a deeper cross-cultural understanding of the legal systems and institutions of Australia and China. This is something that the Secretary acknowledges is crucial. ‘With the rapid development of the Chinese economy, and the quintessential role that legal services play in facilitating trade, initiatives of this kind have never been more important,’ he said.
Prior to taking up placements, participants attended courses at the University of Melbourne and listened to presentations given by representatives of government departments and agencies, including Attorney-General’s Department officers James Graham, Liz O’Donnell, James Faulkner, Dr Dianne Herriot, and Serena Beresford-Wiley. Patrick Collins of the Access to Justice Division also escorted the participants to Question Time so they could see parliament in action.
Further details on the fourth program can be found at the Australia-China Legal Profession Program 2010 webpage.
Legal Education Symposium 2010
A symposium with the theme 'With what should Australian law graduates be equipped to lead the world in legal practice?' is proposed for September/October 2010. -The symposium aims to increase the professional mobility of Australian lawyers and explore how to better prepare our graduates for legal practice.
The symposium will feature sessions with short oral presentations and discussion. Presenters will be from academia, the judiciary, the profession (local and international), legal professional bodies, admitting authorities and ILSAC.
APEC Legal Services Initiative
The APEC Legal Services Initiative workshop, held in Singapore on 30-31 July 2009, was a resounding success. Representatives from 17 APEC Member economies’ legal services regulators engaged in in-depth discussion and analysis of the various approaches to foreign lawyer regulation as well as critically examining the regulatory schemes in their own economies.
This is the first time that legal regulators from APEC economies have been brought together and it provided a cooperative environment for a frank exchange of views between legal experts and regulators on a number of key issues affecting foreign lawyers across APEC. A key outcome of the workshop is the development of best practice principles for the regulation of foreign lawyers which are under consideration by APEC.
The next phase of the Initiative is the development of a legal services framework for reducing impediments to the provision of services in foreign and international law between APEC economies.
The Initiative was proposed by Australia and co-sponsored by Singapore, New Zealand, Canada, Chinese Taipei and the United States. It was jointly funded by APEC and the Australian Government.
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New Chair of the International Legal Services Advisory Council
On 17 June 2009, Attorney-General, the Hon Robert McClelland MP announced the appointment of Mr Tim Bugg as the new Chair of the International Legal Services Advisory Council. A media release was issued by the Attorney-General following the announcement.
Mr Bugg took over as Chair from the Hon Sir Laurence Street AC KCMG QC, the founding Chair of ILSAC, on 1 July 2009 for a four year term.
Mr Bugg is a partner at Dobson Mitchell & Allport in Tasmania and Chair of the Board of the Tasmanian Centre for Legal Studies. He was the President of the Law Council of Australia (LCA) in 2007 and is a past President of the Law Society of Tasmania. Mr Bugg’s international work during his term as President of the Law Council has given him a high profile overseas, particularly in the US, China, Singapore, Malaysia and India – all markets of priority interest to ILSAC. This work and the ambitious domestic agenda he drove through during his Presidency of the Law Council, including the establishment of the large law firm group as an integral part of the Law Council, has earned him the respect of the legal profession.
A celebration of 19 years service to ILSAC
On 1 June 2009, forty current and former members of ILSAC and friends joined Sir Laurence and Lady Penny Street at a dinner at Ottoman Cuisine in Canberra hosted by the Attorney General, the Hon Robert McClelland MP, to acknowledge nineteen years of contribution by Sir Laurence to the work of ILSAC as its Chairman. Guests who attended included two former Attorneys-General, Professor the Hon Michael Lavarch and the Hon Philip Ruddock MP and the current Secretary of the Attorney-General’s Department, Mr Roger Wilkins AO and three former Secretaries, Mr Patrick Brazil, Mr Alan Rose AO and Mr Stephen Skehill.
The Attorney-General paid special tribute to Sir Laurence noting in particular his strategic vision on identifying the value of taking a public-private sector coordinated approach to the internationalisation of the profession. He also acknowledged the achievements of ILSAC and thanked Sir Laurence, on behalf of his and former governments, for guiding the work of the Council over a period close to two decades. He then presented two gifts to Sir Laurence and a bouquet of flowers to Lady Street.
The Hon Andrew Rogers, Deputy Chair of ILSAC, spoke on behalf of current and former ILSAC members and thanked Sir Laurence for his vision and initiative in 1989 that was instrumental in the establishment of ILSAC. Recalling with fondness and good humour, Andrew spoke of his long association with Sir Laurence from the days in the Supreme Court of NSW to the present, noting with gratitude the many lessons learned by those who were fortunate enough to work with a unique and outstanding figure in the field of law.
Sir Laurence then spoke about the period leading up to the establishment of ILSAC and some of the highlights of its work. He also thanked the Attorney-General, Andrew Rogers, the Department, ILSAC members and colleagues and friends, and the ILSAC Secretariat for their support.
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The Hon Robert McClelland MP presenting the Hon Sir Laurence Street AC KCMG QC with a gift from ILSAC members and friends.