On Friday March 8th I attended the CLE (Continuing Legal Education) Conference organised by the local North West branch of the Law Society of NSW.  I retain my NSW Practicing certificate and it is a requirement for all solicitors to undertake a certain amount of CLE points each year. The conference was held at the UNE Tamworth Campus, which presented a great opportunity to showcase the University and UNE Law School to the local profession. Practitioners from all over the north-west of NSW attended, including Tamworth, Armidale, Scone, Gunnedah, Coonabarabran and Moree. Several were themselves former graduates of UNE Law School.  

It was wonderful to catch up with our former graduates and to hear first-hand from them how they are progressing in practice. It never ceases to amaze me the many and varied career paths that our former law graduates end up pursuing. It is truly gratifying to see former students becoming successful legal practitioners. 

Among the many speakers were Ms. Linden Barnes, the Ethics Officer of the Law Society of NSW.  Linden is a wonderful speaker and presented a most thought provoking workshop in which practitioners were faced with a series of very difficult and finely balanced ethical scenarios, which promoted vigorous debate. Our own Paul Akon delivered a most engaging paper on ‘plain English’ legal writing. Our Head of School Professor Michael Adams, himself a well-known and highly respected expert on Corporate Governance in the Banking and Finance industry, presented a seminar on the implications of the Hayne Royal Commission. 

Overall the day was thoroughly enjoyable and a great promotion for UNE and the Law School! 

 — About the Author —

Paul Sattler
Associate Lecturer, UNE Law School

Main image: Paul Akon (Senior Lecturer, UNE Law School) and Natalie Scanlon (President of the North and North West Regional Law Society)