Righteous Pups Australia is a not for profit organisation with a mission to raise, socialise and train Autism Assistance Dogs to do a variety of practical tasks for Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders and their families. An Autism Assistance dog will cost approximately $29,000 to rear, train and place over an 18-month period.

The New South Wales Bar Association is hosting a Trivia Night in the Common Room on Thursday, 12 August to raise vital funds for this wonderful organisation. So it’s time to get your heads together and come and join the fun!  Friends, partners, clients and instructing solicitors are all welcome. Although be warned: anyone caught trying to Google the answers will be fined $20, which will go directly to Righteous Pups Australia.  ...

The president and the Bar Council have the pleasure of inviting all members of the New South Wales Bar Association and their guests to a Fundraising Dinner for the Martin Place homeless. The dinner is to take place on Thursday, 19 August 2010 in the Strangers’ Dining Room at NSW Parliament House. The dinner commences at 6.00pm. ...

On 14 May 2010 Attorney-General Robert McClelland released the National Legal Profession Reform draft Bill and accompanying materials for public consultation.  The Bar Association's executive director, Philip Selth, will discuss these reforms, and their effect on the bar tonight at 5.15pm in the Bar Common Room. The session will be chaired by the president, Tom Bathurst QC.  For more details download a flyer....

This Workshop Series focuses on how Barristers can maximise their persuasive ability. Participants practise and analyse persuasive and presentational strategies, tactics and techniques, using material that is specifically designed to enhance persuasiveness in many facets of legal work. This hands-on, small-group format is a laboratory for experiment with each individual’s approach and temperament, in an entertaining, collegial atmosphere where experience is pooled and shared. The emphasis is on helping participants to develop personal persuasive and presentational styles, through intensive practice of micro-skills, often honed under questioning pressure. The series consists of three workshops to be held on Sunday 17, 24 and 31 October 2010 from 10.00am - 2.00pm. Attendance will provide 6 CPD points in the Advocacy strand. For more information download a flyer. To register, click here. ...

The New South Wales Bar Football Team is competing, for the first time, in the solicitors’ Inter-firm Football Day on Saturday, 4 September 2010 at Queens Park Ovals commencing from about 9.30 am. Team registrations close on 6 August 2010. For further information or to register please contact Anthony Lo Surdo on ph: (02) 9223 3181 or losurdo@12thfloor.com.au There will be about 10 law firms competing including most of the majors. It is likely that the bar will put up for contention the Sir Arthur George Perpetual Trophy last contested and won by the bar (from the solicitors) in 1988. Participants and spectators are encouraged to attend. Enjoy a picnic with family and friends. Please, no vuvuzelas!...

Nominations are now being called for the Australian Human Rights Commission’s 2010 Human Rights Medals and Awards which recognise and reward efforts to protect human rights in Australia. Nominations close at 5pm on Monday, 4 October, 2010. Winners will be presented with their Medals and Awards at a ceremony to be held on Human Rights Day, Friday, 10 December 2010 at the Sheraton on the Park in Sydney. For more information about the award categories, or to obtain an entry form, visit the Human Rights Commission's web site>...