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Victorian Bar rejoins LCA at members’ request
Members of the Victorian Bar have voted to continue its relationship with the Law Council of Australia months after its president said that talks about the existing fee structure had broken down and the association would begin operating separately.
Naomi Neilson
President Christopher Blanden QC has confirmed that the Victorian Bar will resume its relationship with the Law Council of Australia (LCA), less than three months after he told members via email that the negotiation of a $230,000 capitation fee had broken down and they were to be the first to operate separately.
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In mid-March, Mr Blanden told members that the existing fee structure of the LCA “was no longer fit for purpose” and the national legal body was unwilling to consider his two proposals to modernise the fees, including an “opt-in” choice. At the time, he said that the Bar Council determined it “could no longer pass the LCA capitation fee onto our members on an involuntary basis” and withdrew its membership.
“While we hoped that LCA would consider our proposals and engage in discussion on them, that has not occurred to date. We are amenable to, and would welcome, further communications from the LCA,” Mr Blanden said in March.
On 11 June, he distributed a poll – along with a fact sheet and a “one page summary of the arguments both for and against” re-joining the LCA – to members and, last Friday, 2 July, announced that the majority had elected to resume the membership. Mr Blanden wrote that he has written to LCA president Dr Jacoba Brasch QC to confirm.
“[The] Bar Council is pleased that we will continue our membership with the support of our members. We look forward to proactively working together to support the LCA’s important policy work as well as addressing the unique issues that face barristers in Victoria,” Mr Blanden wrote to members last Friday.
