Piddington in 2023

A letter from the Hon Ken Martin KC, Chair of The Piddington Society

Dear colleagues and friends,

I am writing to keep you informed of the activities of The Piddington Society during 2023.

As you may know, I was honoured to become the Chair of Piddington during July, succeeding the Hon John Chaney SC in that role. John gave Piddington five years of wise and dedicated stewardship, overseeing the growth and development of our organisation, assisting it to mature, become stronger and more effective. Piddington is indebted to John for his invaluable contribution.

In recognition of John’s efforts Piddington has established the John Chaney Award, which is for a law student who demonstrates John’s commitments to advancing collegiality and access to justice. We are pleased to have selected an inaugural winner, who will be announced next week through our social media channels.

I am also pleased to let you know that Piddington is ending 2023 in a historically strong financial position. As a not-for-profit organisation this great result will soon flow through to assist many in genuine need. This is entirely attributable to the support and trust the legal profession has placed and continues to repose in Piddington and its endeavours. I have seen across my five months as Chair that each decision taken at Piddington is made with a deep consideration given to towards what the legal profession has asked for and how our plans can best advance Piddington’s core objects.

Those objects are unchanged. Piddington seeks to promote collegiality throughout the legal profession and particularly to provide engagement opportunities for those who might otherwise be overlooked. From that perspective we then seek to improve access to justice for the community; assist and support entry into the profession by aspiring and junior lawyers; and provide first-rate legal education and training to aspiring and existing members of the legal profession.

The magic art of Piddington — mixing the goals of professional development, collegiality and advancing justice — is on show at all our conferences and short courses, but our standalone collegiality and professional development sessions achieve this too. When you go to a professional session (be that for Piddington PLT or CPD) you will be met by warm and supportive colleagues. When you go to a collegiality event you will meet people from across the profession.

Proceeds from all Piddington’s events go toward supporting our access to justice projects.

One part of Piddington cannot exist without the other. Collegiality, professional development and access to justice are inextricably linked.

I am very pleased to report that over the past year Piddington has:

• Contributed more than $50,000 to the community legal sector and access to justice.
• Hosted more than 25 events and activities with more than 1200 attendees and over 70 speakers and presenters.
• Had 25 new lawyers complete Piddington PLT who are either now admitted or very soon to be.
• Continued to build our online presence, now easily reaching more than 10,000 people through our social media and newsletters.

Piddington relies on a high stock of goodwill that is delivered selflessly from right across the legal profession. This gift is something for which we are always grateful and will never take for granted.

May I express a sincere thanks to everyone who has spoken at or chaired a session over the past year. Whilst there is a debt owed to many, may I mention in particular, Nikita Barsby, Sophie Coffin, Rachel Oakeley, Carla Vinciullo and Belinda Wong, who have made priceless contributions. Adam Ebell continues to make a substantial contribution across our programs year after year, and 2023 was no different.

Lucy Clark put in an extraordinary effort to bring back the Bali Conference in June 2023, Coordinating venues, speakers and more than 200 attendees for another successful weekend.

Lucy will be back doing it again in 2024, this time with Grace Ritter. More details about this Bali Conference are available here.

Piddington’s first three months of 2024 are taking firm shape already with many details available through our website here.

As a new and exciting potential development on the horizon for Piddington, I am pleased to let you know that we have submitted an application to the Legal Practice Board to become an approved provider of a Practice Management Course. We will enthusiastically deliver that program should the application be approved.

Piddington constantly hears feedback from the profession that what we deliver is practical, engaging and fun. It is rewarding to get that feedback, but we will strive to be better each year. Our focus is on how we can best support the profession, and we can only do that with the feedback loop you provide to us.

As our core objects guide us, we are focused on how we can contribute even more to access to justice. At the 2023 Bali Conference, the Hon John Chaney SC gave an update on recent contributions we had made. You can read that here.

Between the Piddington PLT Fund, the Piddington Justice Fund, Kaartdijin, our First Nations Legal Education Fund, we can make thoughtful contributions to the community. We are in contact right now with the community legal centres and law schools about how our profits can be best deployed. I will update you on that across the new year.

These projects, including growing them, and our other contributions to access to justice, only exist because of your support.

We are also enabled by our sponsors. We thank Pitcher Partners and Shadforth Financial Group for their ongoing support, and firms including Blackwall Legal, Pragma Lawyers, Pascoe Legal and Tehan Legal for their support for specific events.

Piddington is managed by an energetic Committee who embrace their responsibilities and want to get their hands dirty with hard work. I sincerely thank Shaban Azad, Thomas de Bes, Catriona Macleod, Nick Malone, Briannen Morrow, Monty Purich, Zoe Thornton, Nicholas van Hattem and Briony Whyte for their contributions across 2023.

What I have touched upon is far from the entirety of what Piddington does. Our staff quietly and conscientiously get on with the work of administering the organisation and delivering our programs. I wish to sincerely thank — Stephanie Anile, Natasha Erlandson, Conrad Liveris, Jane Moffat, Gina Petit, Lucette Quinlan, Elisha Rose and Mark Singco, as well as all our ad hoc contractors — who calmly and competently keep the ship afloat. Your efforts keep on delivering the magic Piddington is now renowned for.

Thank you everyone for your support in 2023. I look forward to entrenching, nurturing and building on all this momentum in 2024.

Stay safe over the summer and we look forward to seeing you all in 2024.

Yours sincerely,

The Hon Ken Martin KC
Chair, The Piddington Society

The Hon Kenneth Martin KC retired from the Supreme Court of Western Australia in July 2023, having served as a judge for over 14 years. Upon his retirement, he was appointed the Chair of The Piddington Society.

As a judge, he mostly sat as a first-instance trial judge of the Commercial and Managed Cases List as a member of the Court’s General Division. He managed the Court’s Arbitration List from 2018–2023 and also served as a member of the Industrial Appeal Court (2009–2023).

He retired as the Senior Puisne Justice of the Court and from time-to-time he sat on Appeals, as Acting Chief Justice and as Acting-Governor of Western Australia.

Prior to his appointment, Mr Martin spent 17 years (1992–2009) at the independent bar. He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1997.

Mr Martin is a former President of the WA Bar Association (2005–2007), a former President and Life Member of the Law Society of Western Australia (2009) and former Acting‑Parliamentary Inspector of the Crime and Corruption Commission of Western Australia (the CCC).

He now works privately from Francis Burt Chambers as a mediator and commercial arbitrator.