The city’s La Trobe campus will begin offering law courses to students from next year in the hope that it will encourage the breeding of a fresh, locally produced crop of lawyers.

In Bendigo for the Law Institute of Victoria’s (LIV’s) first ever meeting in Gold Rush territory recently, president Bill O’Shea welcomed the move. His regional counterpart, James Leach, said: “It should be a great opportunity to produce lawyers born and bred in Bendigo. And when lawyers complete their articles here, we have to think of ways of retaining them in country areas rather than losing them to the city.”

At present only two articled clerks are learning their trade in the 90,000 plus centre.