Victorian bar council plotting to pull out of the Law Council of Australia … Gentle academic enters the Phillip Street hornets’ nest … Timbo Carmody in Brisbane ethics fest  

Right now Vic’s Bar n’ Grill thinks life would be better outside the national tent and the issue is up for discussion at tonight’s meeting of the Yarraside bigwigs.  

The Vixit movement is led by council president Paul Anastassiou, who is now Melbourne’s version of Boris Johnson.  

It’s strange because some of the leaders of the LCA have come from Vic’s Bar – Alex Chernov and Robert Ray, while Yarraside barrister Fi Fi McLeod is the LCA president-in-waiting. Melbourne’s David Neal SC also headed the LCA’s mighty campaign during the federal election, which highlighted the brutality of the government’s legal aid cuts.   

Fi Fi recently acted for Vic bushfire victims in a case against Boris, which was settled.  

A Victorian bar pull-out presents all sorts of difficulties for Victorian lawyers who already play a big role in LCA affairs.  

And what about the money? Will the coin saved by the bar withdrawing as a constituent member of the national body go back to the rank and file or will it be quietly allocated for some other worthy purpose, like more portraits of great heroes for the Peter O’Callaghan QC Art Gallery?  

Will it mean having to withdraw from the Australian Bar Association? It will certainly mean that Vic’s Bar will lose any influence it might have had on the Legal Services Council, where the barristers’ representative is Bret Walker.  

The concept of a unified legal profession has always been shaky, but should the Victorian bar decide to paddle its own canoe it will be a significant setback to get more of the state bodies on board with the “national” scheme.  

So far, the Vixit talk has been relatively hush-hush and many members will be surprised to discover what is going on.  

Philip has been collecting glasses and doing the dishes for nearly 20 years, under at least 12 grill room proprietors. 

He’s staying on for now as CEO of the Australian Bar Association. 

Does the sprightly Greg know the mire into which he is stepping? The council has been split between the conservatives and the ultra-Tories and this has affected pressing questions like how much bling barristers would show and whether they should be little one man corporations.  

The last council election was a tussle between the pro-global-warming, anti-press-release brigade, and the status quo, with claims and counter claims choking members’ inboxes. 

Here’s Prof Tolhurst, when he was acting dean, explaining to Kat the wonders of a law degree.  

His academic bio explains that the new CEO is a contract, commercial and banking law guru.  

He has closely studied regulations and reforms to enhance financial stability in the post GFC era.  

Expertise that will come in handy at Phillip Street.  

He’s part of a team of experts launching the Governance Institute’s Ethics Index which provides “valuable insight into public perceptions of acceptable corporate, professional and personal behaviours”.  

The former CJ took acceptable professional and personal behaviours to new horizons by referring to his colleagues on the bench as “snakes and scum”.  

Hurry, this is a unique opportunity and the show kicks off at 5.30.