The Law Society advocates on a variety of issues that affect the legal profession and the community through submissions, advisory initiatives and campaigns.
Law Society Policy Papers
The Law Society has prepared briefing papers outlining its policy positions on a number of issues concerning both the legal profession and wider community.
- Family violence (November 2020)
- Mentally Impaired Accused (October 2020)
- Injury Insurance Claims Harvesting (October 2020)
- Complaints Against Judiciary (September 2020)
- Ademption (August 2020)
- Implement Recommendations of Statutory Review of the Guardianship & Administration Act 1990 (August 2020)
- Wills for Minors (August 2020)
- Legal Assistance Funding (July 2020)
- Amendment to the Administration Act 1903 (WA) (July 2020)
- End of Life Choices (July 2019)
- Sale of the WA Land Registry (June 2018)
- Expunging Historical Homosexual Convictions (April 2017)
- Royal Commission into institutionalised responses to child sexual abuse (October 2017)
- Australian Human Rights Act (September 2008)
Sentencing policies
- Imprisonment of fine defaulters (August 2020)
- Bail (July 2020)
- Death penalty (July 2020)
- Mandatory sentencing (July 2020)
Closing the gap policies
- First Nations Specialist Courts Briefing Paper (August 2021)
- Issues affecting incarceration rates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children (August 2020)
- Closing the gap (August 2020)
- Access to justice issues faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Western Australia (July 2020)
- Justice reinvestment (July 2020)
- Deaths in custody and incarceration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples (July 2020)
- Issues that contribute to the incarceration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in Western Australia (July 2020)
- Mandatory sentencing and how it contributes to the incarceration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Western Australia (July 2020)
Legal profession policies
- Judicial resources (November 2020)
- Diversity and equality (April 2019)
- Legal profession uniform law (July 2019)
- Judicial appointments (October 2017)
- The Future of the Legal Profession (December 2017)
- Position Paper – People Unlawfully Engaging in Legal Work: Protecting the Community (August 2017). Note: People Unlawfully Engaging in Legal Work: Protecting the Community makes a series of recommendations relevant to the future of the legal profession. A report on the action items was provided to the Law Society’s Council at its June 2018 meeting and members are advised that the Law Society has made representations to the Attorney General for the repeal of section 12(4) of the Legal Profession Act 2008 (WA), or alternatively, adoption of the Legal Profession Uniform Law, and the insertion of a new provision that would prevent unqualified people from providing products to the public that generate legal advice. The Society is also progressing the preparation of guidelines for non-lawyers who may engage in legal practice on the meaning of ‘legal practice’ and will be publishing material for the community to reference on the benefits of instructing a qualified legal practitioner over an unqualified person. Members are encouraged to report to the Law Society any instances of non-lawyers providing legal work.
- Final Directions paper the Law Society’s response to the Women Lawyers of WA 20th Anniversary Review of the 1994 Chief Justice’s Gender Bias Taskforce Review (August 2016)
- Appointment of Senior Counsel in Western Australia (February 2013)
State Government and Opposition respond to the Law Society’s Policy Positions
In November 2020, the President of the Law Society of Western Australia wrote to both the Hon Mark McGowan MLA, Premier of Western Australia, and the Hon Liza Harvey MLA, (then) Leader of the Opposition asking them to respond to the Law Society’s policy positions on a range of legal issues affecting community members and the legal profession in Western Australia.
A summary of the briefing papers and responses from the Liberal Government and Labor Opposition was published in the Brief February 2021 issue.
Read their letters in their entirety