Women barristers lash out at ‘discriminatory’ notice

The notice in a Melbourne chambers advertised fake awards for ‘most woke counsel’ and ‘best virtue-signalling counsel’.

The Women Barristers Association has condemned a notice that they say was created to mock female lawyers.

The Women Barristers Association has lashed out at a mock notice posted in the lift of a prestigious law chambers, claiming the flyer was intended to ridicule female lawyers and saying the fight for women’s rights has “not ended”.

The notice, pinned to a lift in Melbourne’s Owen Dixon Chambers, advertised the fake “Men in Law Awards” which included categories for “most woke counsel” and “best virtue-signalling counsel”.

Other categories included: least offensive counsel; best beard worn by counsel under 5 years call; best beard worn by counsel over 15 years call; counsel with the best virtue signalling ‘signature’ statement (he, him, it, they dilligaf, acknowledgment of prior claims to land, etc.)

“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,” the notice read.

“Sadly this expertise will not be called upon in judging such nominations.”

The notice concluded by saying “Men: Bring a plate. Women: BYO”.

A mock notice pinned to the wall of a lift in the Owen Dixon Chambers, advertising the fake “Men in Law Awards”. Picture: Supplied

Not everyone saw humour in the notice, with the WBA swiftly issuing a statement condemning the “discriminatory” flyer, and saying it was an attack on the Women in Law Awards.

“The WBA has been informed about a notice designed, among other things, to mock the women in law awards being posted in the lifts of Owen Dixon Chambers,” the statement read.

“The notice is a reminder that while the Bar has taken great strides towards equality and inclusion, challenges remain. 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.”

The Victorian Bar Association late Wednesday issued a statement saying: “The Victorian Bar is aware of an unauthorised notice placed in the lifts in Owen Dixon Chambers East. The notice purported to be from the Victorian Bar. It is not and has been removed.”

The incident comes one year after a different notice was pinned in the Owen Dixon Chambers East lift, which referenced a spoof “LGBTQMS” Victorian Bar committee that was seeking new members but stated that “white, male heterosexuals” need not apply.

The notice, which claimed to be from the bar and was written under its letterhead, was rapidly denounced by the Bar Council, with the council launching an investigation into the production of the notice.

In February this year, it was revealed that investigation involved scanning thousands of barristers email accounts to identify the source of the notice.

“That software returned a number of hits that were responsive to the search term,” an email sent to barristers from the Bar Council read at the time.

“Most were immediately disregarded as irrelevant to the investigation with approximately 10 emails identified as being of interest.

“A (Bar) employee reviewed the subject lines of those emails and one email was opened and read.”

This article has been updated from a version which stated Sam Hay was president at the time of the email investigation.