Some male barristers in Melbourne seem to think that self-congratulatory gestures like giving each other joke prizes for being ‘woke’ is something to be broadcast.
This week, a picture was taken of a fake “Men in Law Awards” call-out pinned to the lift inside the Melbourne offices of Owen Dixon Chambers. The notice purported to be from the The Victorian Bar Association.
“The Men in Law Awards” called for nominations for prizes including “most woke counsel” and “best virtue-signalling counsel.”
The notice also advertised categories including: least offensive counsel; counsel with the best virtue signalling ‘signature’ statement; best beard worn by counsel under 5 years call; best beard worn by counsel over 15 years call.” (In my opinion, beard adjudication contests are men’s politer form of dick-measuring.)
The notice read: “The Men in Law Awards, in conjunction with various stakeholders and a panel of leading pseudo professionals, have developed a robust awards methodology to form the backbone for assessing, analysing and benchmarking Victoria’s leading legal professionals. Sadly this expertise will not be called upon in judging such nominations.”
It concluded with the following recommendation: “Men: Bring a plate. Women: BYO”.
On Wednesday, The Victorian Bar Association issued a statement saying it was “aware of an unauthorised notice placed in the lifts in Owen Dixon Chambers East.”
“The notice purported to be from the Victorian Bar,” the statement read. “It is not and has been removed.”
So, who’s laughing? Certainly not the non-male barristers out there.
The Women Barristers Association (WBA) have retorted that the ‘joke’ notice was aimed at poking fun at women working in law.
WBA released a statement about the notice, saying it was “designed, among other things, to mock the women in law awards.
“The notice is a reminder that while the Bar has taken great strides towards equality and inclusion, challenges remain,” the statement, published in The Australian, said. “This year the WBA celebrates its 30th anniversary. The WBA was established to ensure that the women of the Victorian Bar were treated equally and with respect.”
“Unfortunately, that fight has not ended. We encourage all members of the Victorian Bar to challenge discriminatory behaviour when confronted by it in their professional or personal capacity. Silence is no longer an option.”
Journalist Louise Milligan posted a picture of the notice on LinkedIn, noting that “women barristers were not amused.”
It appears this isn’t the first time such a prank was played in the halls of law chambers in Melbourne.
Last year, a fake notice was pasted in a lift of the offices of Owen Dixon Chambers East, notifying barristers of a new “LGBTQMS” Victorian Bar committee.
The notice carried the Victorian Bar logo, and stated that “white, male heterosexuals” need not apply.
In February this year, the Victorian Bar Council announced that an investigation was launched during which barristers’ emails were accessed. The investigation found “approximately 10 emails identified as being of interest.”
Clearly, it seems that some male barristers find women, LGBTQI and other minority folks a threat. This, despite the number of female barristers in Australia remaining less than half their male counterparts.