From the President

I am delighted to be able to serve again as President of the Society. It is not something I would have expected to do after my previous stint!

I would like to pay tribute to my predecessor, Julia Higgins, for her tireless and invaluable work over the past year. Julia, you are a tough act to follow! I would also like to congratulate all members of Council and in particular my Vice President Amelia Higgs and Treasurer Luke Taylor.

My chosen charity is Minds Count. As many of you are aware, their objective is the promotion of workplace psychological health and safety in the legal community. This intersects neatly with my particular focus this year, namely the attraction and retention of lawyers in the private profession. I believe that the Tasmanian legal profession is entering a critical phase, with fewer graduates, a thinning of senior ranks through retirements and appointments and a palpable shortage of experienced lawyers to take their places. In particular regions and fields it is beyond critical (eg: Criminal practitioners). The problem is not easy to resolve, and certainly will not be solved overnight, but Council is looking at ways to recruit practitioners either back to the local profession as well as considering a targeted campaign for tree changers from the mainland. Even a moderately successful campaign may alleviate the current shortage.

As always, my door, email and phone line are always open to your ideas, suggestions and concerns. Hopefully I get to speak with as many of you as possible over the coming year.

Will Justo
PRESIDENT