A new website, launched today, offers insight into how the Bar operates and gives a run down on legal services. Lawyers and the public are expected to be the main users of the site.

The site, www.vicbar.com.au, shows the public how to access advocates, why and how to use a barrister, how the legal system works and provides links to law related services and how to navigate the legal system.

Available pro bono services will be detailed on the site, and duty barristers’ shceme and how to access them will be available at the click of the mouse.

Victorian Bar chairman, Michael Colbran QC, said a great deal of work has gone in to the site’s redevelopment.

“[It] adopts best practice online, but we see it as a work in progress with more development underway.”

Barristers will have access to a dedicated member section which focuses on services for barristers including professional development and legal research tools.

“The Victorian Bar has always promoted a collegiate environment among members and this new website takes that to a new level,” Colbran said.

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“This online platform with a dedicated member area provides another way to foster a sense of connection between members at the Bar.”

Showcasing the expertise available to the broader legal profession at the Bar was an important consideration in the development of the website, Colbran said, as was promoting understanding about how the legal system works.

“The new website provides greater accessibility for members of the public seeking information about the justice system and makes it easier for the wider legal profession to easily search and locate barristers with the expertise required to best service clients.

“And reflecting the changing emphasis on different dispute resolution methods, the Victorian Bar mediation services, including facilities and mediator-search, have been given greater prominence on the website’s home page.”