$1.8 million COVID 19 package to support practitioners
Posted 29 April 2020
The Law Society is proud to announce a once-off $1.8 million rebate support package to help Members and insureds during the COVID-19 crisis.
The once-off package includes:
- Membership discounts for 2020-21 of 23-24% for most members and up to 85% for low fee earners, subject to renewal by 30 September (refer to below table for more details)
- a 15% rebate on all CPD events for the 2020-21 financial year*
- a $500 Administration Fee rebate for 2020-21 for every insured practitioner
- For 2020-21, Members eligible for the 20% or 50% reduced PI contribution for Low Fee Earners will automatically receive the corresponding Low Fee Earner membership rate
- Expansion of the eligibility criteria for the Non-practising Admitted member category to include members stood down or made redundant due to COVID-19
- The continuation of a 10-month repayment plan on renewal fees
Click here for full details of the support package
Guide to use of Video-Link under the Evidence Convention
Posted 20 April 2020
The Hague Conference of Private International Law has made its Guide to Good Practice on the Use of Video-Link under the Evidence Convention available free of charge. Download the guide.
How are you? No, how are you really?
THE QUESTION:
How are you? No, how are you really?
Exhausted? Agitated? A bit down? Are you finding it hard to get to sleep or to switch off from work? Read More (Members Only)...
An important message about Wellbeing & Resilience
Posted 25 March 2020
We are hearing a lot about
handwashing and social distancing at the moment (and rightly so) – but what
about the other things we need to be doing to look after ourselves and our
family, friends and colleagues?
Lawyers right across SA are
facing uncertainty, disrupted income, health issues, worry about their loved
ones, and so on… These challenges can produce effects such as exhaustion,
detachment from others, insomnia, poor eating habits and irritability. And, of
course, an increased risk of experiencing anxiety and depression.
Some of the usual recommendations
for keeping ourselves mentally healthy and resilient aren’t very helpful
at a time like this where social isolation is mandated for the foreseeable
future. The isolation of working remotely without the usual day to
day interactions with your colleagues will likely take its toll.
The gym is no longer an option.
Connecting with friends and family over dinner has been ruled out. Even getting
some quiet time on your own at home might be difficult now if everyone in the
household is working or studying from home.
The Law Society’s Wellbeing
and Resilience Committee wants to remind you that there are a range of
services still available to support you at this difficult time and there is a
lot you can do to take care of yourself despite the restrictions on movement
and interaction.
Our
top five tips for your wellbeing and resilience:
1. Stay connected – there are so many ways
to do this online now. Share a Spotify playlist, have a video call through
Skype or FB Messenger, play games against colleagues or friends online… This is
particularly important for people who are working from home and are therefore
physically isolated from colleagues as well as their family and friends. For
more inspiration, click here.
2. Keep physically active – use this as an
opportunity to work on your (solo) running or explore the millions of free
exercise videos online. Chris Hemsworth is offering a free trial of his
fitness/lifestyle app, Centr, and there
are lots of other free options to choose from as well. Your gym might even be
offering some free online content. Even if you are only working out in your
lounge room – you will still get the same boost to your physical and mental
health.
3. Focus on what you can control – there is
a lot that we can’t control, predict or even understand at the moment. Taking
charge where we can will help us to combat anxiety. So create a new daily
routine for yourself, decide on some projects you want to spend your weekends
at home working on, and make sure you get enough sleep.
4. Practice meditation and mindfulness –
much of the anxiety we feel comes from rehashing what we have already lived
through and obsessing over what might happen next. That is a normal response to
a situation like this but meditation and mindfulness can bring us back to the
present moment and therefore help us to keep anxiety at bay. There are lots of
apps which make this really easy, such as HeadSpace and InsightTimer.
5. Give yourself some enjoyable distractions
– don’t just work and scroll through news feeds. Here
is one of the many central resources for suggestions about podcasts, books, TV
shows, movies and much more to keep the whole household amused.
Our
top three resources if you need some support:
1.
Lifeline
is still available to you 24/7. They offer phone, text and online chat services.
They also have some suggestions
about getting through this period.
2.
BeyondBlue
services are also still available via phone and chat.
3.
LawCare
Counselling service remains available via phone and face-to-face.
If you are interested in learning
more, click here
for more apps, fact sheets and websites. You can also access our free Online Wellbeing
and Resilience Program (for which you can claim 1 CPD point) and a Wellbeing
and Resilience Guide.
Wellbeing &
Resilience Committee
Practitioner Support Links
LawCare and support groups
Ethics Enquiry Service
Wellbeing & Resilience Resources
Bullying and Harassment in the Workplace
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion