ALLA (WA) News Blog

Wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday break. We will see you all in 2018!

It's almost Christmas, and with only a few days to go before the holiday break I've realised that the last day of work for the year is actually the longest day of the year as it's the summer solstice. So with that in mind, here's some light reading for those of us lucky enough to have a slow day. Check out our previous blog post from 19 December 2013: Christmas Decorations . 

Adieu or au revoir? Goodbye or see you later? We certainly hope to see Alison, Margaret and Noelle again but whether the Department of Premier and Cabinet Library will resurface is anyone’s guess. On 15 December 2017, the Library formally ceased to exist. The collection and two of the library staff have moved to the State Library with a view to implementing a service to the Department. The fate of the Government Libraries Directory is yet to be decided. It would be a shame if it didn’t continue, if only as a reminder of what once was.

So it’s that time of year again – lists and more lists – apart from Santa’s Naughty and Nice lists, there are lists of people and presents, food to prepare, what to pack for the trip [if you are lucky enough] and then there are the Lists of the Top whatevers for the Year. From the 3 Geeks and a Law Blog comes such a list: Top ten 3 Geeks blog posts for 2017 . Of particular interest are numbers 3, 4, 6, 7 & 8 by Greg Lambert, current President of the American Association of Law Libraries, with my favourite being "DoYou Miss Me Yet?" – Re-establishing the Corporate Librarians In this era of readily accessible information, we do not suffer from a lack of information resources, we suffer from an abundance of irrelevant information that looks on its surface to be relevant. Information professionals are your line of defense against the abundance of information, and are your due diligence agents for identifying the resources which best fit your needs and your budge...

The Victorian Legal Services Board & Commissioner has let us know that the Legal Profession Uniform Law Library (Australia) is now available on AustLII The library contains all Statutes, Rules, Regulations, Guidelines and Directions, and a growing body of DLRA determinations relating to the Legal Profession Uniform Law, together with all published decisions made under the Legal Profession Uniform Law since it commenced in NSW and Victoria on 1 July 2015. The creation of the online library ensures all material pertaining to the Legal Profession Uniform Law is now contained in the one place allowing for easier keyword searches for cases involving the Uniform Law. You can access the Legal Profession Uniform Law Library (Australia) on AustLII here .

Alison Jones, a Knowledge Manager and Librarian posted the following on her LinkedIn: Was pleased to write this guest piece for Vable on the one thing that surprised me about being a librarian... which was coming to the realisation that while the lawyers I work with are experts in the law, their librarians are the experts in legal research. And how having the confidence to assist them with legal research, especially through training, has assisted with the library being well regarded within my organisation. In the Vable piece, 'The One Thing That Suprised Me About Being a Librarian' Alison speaks about how our value as librarians 'resides in our ability to mediate between the collection and the people we serve.' Speaking about the Library as a Collection and the Librarian as an Intermediary, Jones goes on to discuss the knowledge gap between legal research required at law school and legal research required in a law firm. What do you think of what Jones' says...

Unfortunately, due to insufficient contributions, we have been forced to delay the publication of the journal till the new year. A combined Issue 4 2017 and Issue 1 2018 will be published in March next year. Because it will be a combined issue the journal is seeking articles on two topics: Professional development Share your experiences on mentoring, being mentored and growing as a professional Library, Information and The law As library and information professionals, many of us spend our days researching the law, with this issue we take the time to reflect on the law. Share your thoughts on the latest developments in the law. Contributions are needed by 20 January 2018.  We also warmly welcome articles outside of these themes. The journal is a fantastic opportunity to contribute to your field by sharing your knowledge and learning with the wider profession and I hope you will consider contributing. Regards, Alex Cato Journal Editor, ALLA Ltd This wa...

Ever needed to find out what the ratification status of human rights treaties are? Take a look at this interactive map from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

This is a reminder post that RSVP's close Monday, 11 December 2017. ALLA (WA) Members are invited to our annual End of Year Celebration. When:  Tuesday, 19th December 2017 Time:  5.30pm-7.30pm Where:  Great Southern Room, State Library of Western Australia RSVP  to  Judy Allan  by COB Monday 11 December 2017. Please let us know if you have any dietary requirements. This fully catered event is exclusively for ALLA (WA) members. If you are not a member of ALLA and would like to join to take part in these, and other important ALLA (WA) initiatives and events, see the  ALLA Ltd. website .

From the Bodleian, the Folger and the Smithsonian to the fabled libraries of middle earth, libraries are places filled with magic. The magic of libraries infected Stuart Kells many years ago, when he picked up a very rare and beautiful book. Kells has been fascinated since and has dedicated his life to the study of rare and precious books. Take a look at the ABC Radio Conversations with Richard Fidler  episode 'The history of libraries from before stone tablets, to printed books' - I quite like the part where he mentions his wife is a Librarian!

The ALLA Conference Committee has been working tirelessly to bring to you a fantastic program for ALLA 2018. Next years conference will bring global and local perspectives to beautiful Darwin. So take a look and start planning your trip! The draft conference program is available from the conference website. #SeeyouinDarwin ALLA would like to thank you to our fantastic sponsors: Platinum sponsor: Justis  Gold Sponsors: Gale, ICLR, Thomson Reuters Silver Sponsors: Oxford, Timebase, Wildy & Sons, Wolters Kluwer Bronze: Bloomsbury, Fairfax, FIRST, HeinOnline, Softlink Want to help make #ALLA2018 the event of the year? The Conference Committee are still looking for more sponsors!  Fantastic packages are available to sponsor including bronze sponsorship, sponsoring the conference app, lunches and morning/afternoon tea. Take a look for more details

For legal minded Star Wars fans, you might be interested in taking a look at Wookieepedia for coverage of "laws and rules across the galaxy. Or alternatively you could take a look at LexisNexis' round up of the Top 5 Star Wars Verdicts and Settlements . It has been said by a Toronto lawyer and legal academic, As provocative as litigation over unauthorized lightsabres and stormtroopers may be, it’s the “animated erotic parody” lawsuit that will have you as confused as a wookie May the reasonable force be with you. Hat Tip:  Thanks to the Slaw post Star Wars, Like All Things, Is Legal by Omar Ha-Redeye

Great news for those who like WASC judgments from AustLII: The date range has been updated!

The release of the 4th edition of the  Australian Guide to Legal Citation (AGLC4) has been delayed till July 2018. For those not aware, AGLC is published by the Melbourne Law School (MLS) as a collaboration between the Melbourne University Law Review (MULR) and the Melbourne Journal of International Law (MJIL). After meeting with the current and future editors of the both publications, the AGLC4 committee have postponed the final release date of AGCL4 to 1 July 2018.  This extended deadline is to allow for adequate time to complete the proofreading and formatting work still remaining. The AGCL4 committee believes that the intended release date of Semester 1, 2018 would have compromised on the quality of AGLC4. The AGLC4 Committee believes that a mid-year release will also allow for a six-month transition period from July to December 2018 for AGLC3 to be phased out. During this transition period, libraries will be able to train their staff in AGLC4 before the start of the...

With a new Committee working hard, we thought it was time to share a little bit about who the Committee is behind the scenes. Over the next few weeks each committee member will answer a few questions so you can get to know them better. Don't forget you can meet them in real life at our  events .  Alice Hewitt, ALLA (WA) Secretary 2017-2018  Alice Hewitt, on set. Who is a hero who has inspired you in your career?  Oh this one is always hard, my career has been a bit varied so far and at the moment I'm doing some very interesting Project Coordinator stuff that even includes video production! (Who saw that coming when I became a Librarian?).  I'm moving back into law libraries in the new year, and part of that decision was inspired by all the great law librarians in WA (and even those I've met all over Australia and across the globe!).  I guess I'm easily inspired as every day I'm inspired by something to try something new, make a plan, learn so...

This position was originally advertised on seek.com.au Who We Are The Supreme Court Library Queensland (SCLQ) is Queensland's principal legal information provider, delivering innovative information services to members of the judiciary, legal profession and community. It offers engaging legal heritage and education activities, including exhibitions, lectures, and a highly valued education program. The Opportunity The Legal Research and Customer Support Officer/Librarian works as part of a small Information Services team. This position assists with the delivery of a high quality information service to library customers, including research and reference assistance, training and support in using library technology and systems, document delivery, and related customer services. This role spans two salary classification levels to provide opportunities for those new to the field and those experienced within it. More details about responsibilities are available on our website: http:/...

ALLA (WA) Members are invited to our annual End of Year Celebration. When:  Tuesday, 19th December 2017 Time: 5.30pm-7.30pm Where: Great Southern Room, State Library of Western Australia RSVP  to Judy Allan  by COB Monday 11 December 2017. Please let us know if you have any dietary requirements. This fully catered event is exclusively for ALLA (WA) members. If you are not a member of ALLA and would like to join to take part in these, and other important ALLA (WA) initiatives and events, see the ALLA Ltd. website .

With a new Committee working hard, we thought it was time to share a little bit about who the Committee is behind the scenes. Over the next few weeks each committee member will answer a few questions so you can get to know them better. Don't forget you can meet them in real life at our  events .  Anne Young, ALLA (WA) Treasurer 2017-2018 Anne Young Who is a hero who has inspired you in your career?  I've mentioned my initial mentor, Margaret Quill,  in a previous post , so I'd like here to praise the team at Murdoch University back in 2002-3 - Anne Greenshields, Soun Wong and Helen Bromleigh.  They were a very welcoming bunch and I particularly enjoyed the lunch simulating discussions at lunch times there!  I learnt a lot from helping Anne run information literacy to the students, which at that point included looking up legal encyclopedias  in print. What is the proudest moment in your professional life?  While proud isn't quite the wo...

This job was originally posted on seek.com.au . Apologies for Cross Posting. Library Manager (Executive Level 1) Library Services - Perth Australian Government Solicitor (AGS) is a group within the Attorney-General’s Department. It is one of Australia’s most significant national legal services providers with offices in every capital city and approximately 320 lawyers who cover some 40 different areas of law related to government. AGS provides legal services through 3 national practice networks: AGS Commercial, AGS Dispute Resolution and the Office of General Counsel. For further information about AGS practice networks and our business please visit www.ags.gov.au For further information about the Department please visit www.ag.gov.au About the role The library provides a highly valued service for legal research and resources to the lawyers within AGS and across the whole of the Attorney-General’s Department nationally. The role of the Library Manager will be responsible for...

Over the past few weeks, ALLA (WA) has received some queries relating to access at the Law Library at the David Malcolm Justice Centre. It has come to the committees attention via these queries that some people had thought that ALLA (WA) is the authority which decides access to the Law Library – that assumption is incorrect. Access to the Law Library is determined by the Western Australian Parliament as per the Legal Profession (Law Library) Regulations 2016 , specifically regulation 8. The committee referenced in regulation 7 is not the ALLA (WA) committee, rather it is the Library Advisory Committee.  The Library Advisory Committee is a separate body comprised of 2 Judges, a Law Society representative, a Western Australian Bar representative, a Legal Practice Board representative, and two persons nominated by the Director General of the Department of Justice. The  Legal Profession (Law Library) Regulations 2016   are best read in conjunction with the Lega...

ALLA (WA) Members are invited to our next CPD Event: Lexis Advance Roundtable. This round table allow attendees (no publisher representatives) to demonstrate the issues and solutions they have discovered using Lexis Advance. This is a BYO Brown Bag Lunch session. Please RSVP early as places are limited. When: 1-2pm Friday 24th November 2017 Where: Jackson McDonald, Level 17, 225 St Georges Terrace, Perth RSVP by Wednesday 22nd November to David McDowell

It’s getting to be that time of year again! Project deadlines, present shopping, and time to celebrate the end of another year! The ALLA (WA) Committee is proud to ask members to save the date for the 2017 End of Year Celebration! When: Tuesday 19 December, from 5.30pm. More details to follow!

With a new Committee working hard, we thought it was time to share a little bit about who the Committee is behind the scenes. Over the next few weeks each committee member will answer a few questions so you can get to know them better. Don't forget you can meet them in real life at our  events .  Natalie McDonald, ALLA (WA) President 2017-2018 Natalie McDonald Who is a hero who has inspired you in your career? My Father.  What ever I did through life (ie sport, education) he would support me and say ‘whatever you start you have to finish’ (because I’m paying!) Especially in sport .  This was ingrained in me through my career and life that you need to keep perservering to achieve your goals. What is the proudest moment in your professional life? Receiving my Degree Career advice – what’s your top tip? Don’t sweat the small stuff!  What’s your favourite legal research tool? JADE Professional.  So easy to use and the function of uploading docu...

With a new Committee working hard, we thought it was time to share a little bit about who the Committee is behind the scenes. Over the next few weeks each committee member will answer a few questions so you can get to know them better. Don't forget you can meet them in real life at our  events .  Stephen Griffiths, ALLA (WA) Vice President 2017-2018 Jonesy, Stephen's cat, with a fidget spinner Who is a hero who has inspired you in your career? I’m a big fan of the public service librarians mentioned in the NSW library pay equity case ( [2002] NSWIRComm 55 ) – their actions set a precedent that improved the lot of librarians across the country. And also James Procell, the library director of the Dwight Anderson Memorial Music Library in Rupa Marya v. Warner Chappell Music Inc who unearthed the Mildred and Patty Hill manuscript for “Good morning to all” (aka “Happy Birthday to You”) which helped the court determine that the iconic song was out of copyright and kicked...

Today marks the start of Open Access Week . With that in mind, here's a blog post from Cornell University Law Schools VoxPopuLII Blog - home of the Legal Information Insitute [LII] which has been providing open access to American law since 1992. (Those familiar with our own AustLII would see the relationship here). The blog post, 25 for 25: A Librarian's Free Law Awakening  by Sarah Glassmeyer talks about her "free law awakening' and the process of law publishing, and how this challenged her "librarian perceptions of what really matters in publishing Free Law." It's a nice reminder of the value that free legal platforms do give us as law librarians (and practitioners). For instance, The public needs to be able to access legal information on the open 24/7 Internet in an easy to navigate, mobile friendly way, since most people – especially lower income individuals – access the web via mobile devices. .... Primary law needs to be published witho...

ALLA (WA) Members are invited to the ALLA (WA) Spring Breakfast. This event will give members an opportunity to enjoy networking, a lovely spring morning and some good food. When:  Wednesday 25 October 2017 at 7.30 am Where:  Tiisch, 9B, 938 Hay Street (Corner Milligan Street), Perth RSVP:  Friday 20 October to Judy Allan  judith.allan@legalaid.wa.gov.au Please Note: Tiisch will accept separate billing, and for ease have requested pre-orders. Please include your order with your RSVP. Tiisch’s menu can be found here:  http://www.tiisch.com.au/food/ 

This job was originally posted on seek.com.au  Legal Research Officer South Australian Parliament Research Library Part-time (Monday to Wednesday) / twelve-month contract A Legal Research Officer is required to join a small team who contribute to the Library's research, reference and information services. Duties include the preparation of research reports, and written and oral briefings on a wide range of matters for Members of the South Australian Parliament. A post-graduate qualification from a recognised tertiary institution is essential. When Parliament is sitting some rostered evening work will be required. Employment is subject to provisions of the Parliament (Joint Services) Act 1985.  Recreation leave will not be approved on Parliamentary sitting days.  Appointment may be subject to a satisfactory offender history check. Any person who has been, or is currently, politically active may compromise the strict political neutrality of this p...

Salary Range: $76,585 to $82,706 pa (plus 17% super) Employment Type: Full-time (36.75 hours per week) and fixed term to 31 December 2018 Location: Geelong Waterfront Campus or Melbourne Burwood Campus About the Role: To liaise with staff and students in designated Faculties, Schools and research centres to ensure that the Library is responsive to the teaching, learning, and research needs of the Deakin University community. This will include: As part of a cross-campus team, initiate and maintain strategic liaison with academic staff, researchers and students in the Faculty Business and Law to ensure Library responsiveness to client needs. Develop collections and identify free scholarly resources in collaboration with academic and research staff and liaison teams to enhance the achievement of teaching, learning, and research objectives of designated Faculties and Departments or Schools. As part of a cross-campus team, to design, deliver and evaluate digital literacy prog...

This position has been previous advertised on seek.com.au - visit the original posting for video footage. Library & Research Assistant Reporting to a Director Exciting challenge - Newly created role Flexible working hours The Firm With offices globally and an expanding Sydney office, this reputable firm are located in the heart of the CBD with spectacular views. The firm maintain a very low staff turnover and provide their staff with; Regular team and firm wide events (lunches, dinners, drinks, Melbourne cup and Christmas parties), health insurance discounts, monthly morning teas and more! The Role This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced Legal Research Librarian to join their Sydney office. This is a standalone role supporting Australia, Asia and the US. Your duties will include: Provide reference and research to professionals of all levels Ensure Lawyers are kept up to date on Business development Being the first point of contact and ...

This position was originally advertised on Seek.com.au  Senior Librarian About Hall & Wilcox Hall & Wilcox is a pre-eminent independent business law firm with one of the fastest growing partnerships in Australia. We are currently a firm of more than 550 people, including 70 partners. We have offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Newcastle, Canberra, Perth and Brisbane and act nationally for Australian-based clients and multinational clients with Australian interests. Our leadership team was recognised by winning Managing Partner of the Year at the 2015 and 2017 Australian Law Awards. About the role We have an exciting opportunity for a Senior Librarian to join our growing Knowledge & Library team. This role will provide the opportunity to work closely with various practice groups within the firm across all office locations and will be responsible for supervising two team members. Duties Provide research and reference services to the firm Maintenance of the refere...

Our friends over at ALIA have just released the fourth annual ALIA LIS Education, Skills and Employment Trend Report .  The report seeks to provide students, educators, employees and employers with an understanding of the national landscape and inform ALIA's work. The ALIA news post for the Report provides a summary of its findings: The report shows that over the five years from November 2010 to November 2015, there were 43.5% fewer Librarian positions in the workforce; 16.3% fewer Technician positions, and 12.4% fewer Library Assistant positions. However, looking ahead to May 2022, the Department of Employment predicts a 15.6% employment rise for Librarians, a relatively stable number of Library Technician positions and a drop of 13% for Library Assistant positions. There is expected to be a modest increase in the number of qualified positions available over the next five years, but a significant decrease in the number of positions for staff without a library and inform...

With a new Committee working hard, we thought it was time to share a little bit about who the Committee is behind the scenes. Over the next few weeks each committee member will answer a few questions so you can get to know them better. Don't forget you can meet them in real life at our  events .  Judy Allan, ALLA (WA) Committee Member 2017-2018 Judy Allan Who is a hero who has inspired you in your career? There are three people who have influenced me greatly and to whom I am grateful for their help and support: Judy Clayden, my lecturer in cataloguing at ECU who made a particularly challenging subject interesting; Megan Evans who gave me my current job and who gently introduced me to law and mentored me to the point where I was competent; and last, but not least, Deb Harvey, my current boss, who is a very warm and incredibly generous person who is helpful and supportive of such aims and ambitions as I have. What is the proudest moment in your professional life...

Have a desire to write a journal article? What about present at a conference? We've found some opportunities from all over the world. Conferences CALL/ACBD Conference 2018 The Canadian Assocaition of Law Libraries / L'Assocation Canadienne des Bibliotheques de Droit Conference will be held on 27-30 May in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Submissions for Conference Sessions and Lighning Talks are open until October 20. The theme is Build Bridges | Broaden Our Reach. See the conference website for more details.  Journals Australian Law Librarian Journal The Australian Law Librarian   is seeking  contributions for the upcoming issue.  Centred around the theme of professional development, issue 4 of the journal is the place to share your experiences in mentoring, being mentored and growing as a professional. As a professional, you never stop growing. With this issue, we invite you to share your experiences, learnings, and thoughts on mentoring and professi...

Registration for the 2018 IFLA World Library and Information Congress is now open. The 84th IFLA Conference will take place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 24-30 August. Attendees can register via the Congress website . Please note that if you registered for one of the previous IFLA Congresses since 2012 via the online registration system, you can use the same login username and password for IFLA WLIC 2018. Should you have a group booking of ten or more attendees please contact: wlic2018-registration@kit-group.org for further information on how to register your group.

Two positions are available in the Law Library at The University of Melbourne: Liaison Support Librarian : Continuing role.  Liaison Librarian: Fixed term until 30 June 2018. Applications for both positions close 19 October 2017.

With a new Committee working hard, we thought it was time to share a little bit about who the Committee is behind the scenes. Over the next few weeks each committee member will answer a few questions so you can get to know them better. Don't forget you can meet them in real life at our events .  David McDowell, ALLA (WA) Committee Member 2017-2018 David McDowell Twelve Apostles, Great Ocean Road, Victoria Who is a hero who has inspired you in your career? My family always encouraged me with my career choices despite them not always being the most lucrative or having the best job prospects. I worked a few different jobs before settling on a career working in libraries. I can't identify one person alone who influenced that decision but the people I have worked with along the way have made me feel that this was the direction I was meant to take.  What is the proudest moment in your professional life? Does staying consistently employed in the library field count...

This position was originally posted on  Seek.com.au An exciting new opportunity exists for an experienced Research Librarian to join our well established Sydney Office. As a member of a high performing global team, the Research Librarian is responsible for providing reference and research library services to lawyers, paralegals and support staff on a Firm-wide basis. This is a full time position reporting to the Director of Firm Research & Library Services and the Australian Director of Operations. The responsibilities of this role include the following: delivering high quality legal and business research services to the Firm; performing in-depth and complex business and legal reference and research duties, including responding to user requests for information from internal and external resources, onsite and offsite materials, and print and non-print media on legal, business and general topics; ensuring that lawyers are kept up to date on all legal and business developm...

Following the 2016-17 Annual General Meeting the Board are are seeking nominations for the following positions: Treasurer CPD coordinator and Director  The positions are an opportunity for any member of the Association to expand their professional skills over the course of 1 year with the option to extend for a further 2 years. With the support of the ALLA Board the Treasurer and CPD coordinator undertake the following duties: Treasurer  Responsible for ALLA Ltd financial reporting, and liaison with professionals engaged for financial services. The role of the Treasurer includes assisting the Board to ensure the Association’s compliance with all financial and governance requires. The Treasurer oversees the disbursement of funds to the divisions and the expenses incurred by the Association. CPD Coordinator & Director The CPD Coordinator manages the national CPD calendar. Working with members, non-members and vendors the CPD Coordinator organizes events to be he...

Last week The Guardian (Australian Edition)  published an interesting article about the potential downsides of being professional services staff with an academic background at a higher education institution. The article, Work in an academic-professional hybrid role? Say goodbye to career progression was written by an "anonymous academic", highlights the position that many academic librarians face. We blur the lines of professional staff and academic staff, something that tends to not fit will within the traditional career paths of Australian universities. I now realise that some academics see me as someone who is just there to help them, while others see me as purely academic. But it’s also an inherent feature of the job: it’s hard to focus your work when you spread yourself thinly. Moving up within the institution is difficult when others are specialised, and you feel you do a bit of everything. Of course not all librarians want to be on an academic career path, but ...

Introduction: Oh dear. Oh dear. Oh dear. When the reasons for decision starts with "Oh dear. Oh dear. Oh dear." you know it's going to be good. Just wait til you get to the end. Full decision of AF v SWP (DLA) (No. 2) [2017] UKUT 366 (AAC) available on BAILII .

ALLA (WA) Members are invited to the ALLA (WA) Spring Breakfast. This event will give members an opportunity to enjoy networking, a lovely spring morning and some good food. When: Wednesday 25 October 2017 at 7.30am Where: Tiisch, 9B, 938 Hay Street (Corner Milligan Street), Perth RSVP: Friday 20 October to Judy Allan judith.allan@legalaid.wa.gov.au Please Note: Tiisch will accept separate billing, and for ease have requested pre-orders. Please include your order with your RSVP. Tiisch’s menu can be found here:  http://www.tiisch.com.au/food/ 

It seems that The Onion    has a thing for the Library of Congress with a recent spate of articles where the LOC is a star. Take a look if you need some laughs to help you get through your afternoon! Library of Congress Completes Destruction Of 70 Million Works Deemed Culturally Insignificant Embarrassed Library of Congress Can't Believe Some Of The Albums It Used To Be Into Library of Congress Adds 3 Titles To List Of Films That Should Be Destroyed Forever Library of Congress Adds 'No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith' To National Motörhead Registr y ALLA (WA) recognises that The Onion is a satire website. If you need assistance in determining if a news article is genuine, have a look at the IFLA - How to Spot Fake News Infographic  or ask your Librarian.

Ever wondered what Librarian School was like in 1948? The State Library of Victoria's Blog tells us all in their post So, you want to be a librarian? It holds some great gems including a sample assignment, and links to newspaper articles in Trove (just don't be like me and get to stuck into fixing the text... promise me 5 mins tops!) Special thanks to Justin Booker for the tip off!

Natalie McDonald, ALLA (WA) President, 2017-2018 ALLA(WA) AGM We held our AGM on 9th August 2017 where the new 2017/2018 Committee were confirmed. This term we had a few new members join the Committee, David McDowell from Jackson McDonald and Judy Allan from Legal Aid. I would like to welcome David and Judy to the Committee. I would also like to welcome back the following Committee members : Vice President: Stephen Griffiths Secretary : Alice Hewitt Treasurer: Anne Young Committee members: Gil Bevan and Catherine Kafentzis. Details of the new Committee will be updated on the ALLA website soon and can be already found on the About The Committee page of this blog. I mentioned at the AGM that the attendance at past AGM’s and CPD events had been poor and one of our focus’ for last term was to look at ways of improving the attendance. The Committee has worked hard in organising events, seeking feedback from members who attended the events but the support unfortunately...