Do you feel burdened by the number of judgments you have to write? Are your judgments and rulings getting longer and more complex?
Update: A few additional spots have recently become available for this event. Please register early to secure your place.
Learn how to step off the judicial writing treadmill – and liberate time to focus on other aspects of the judicial role.
In this 2-day experiential workshop, you will learn from judge-educators and eminent writers to hone your judgment writing techniques to become more efficient and effective. Participants will develop a range of effective ways to write tightly structured, precise and accessible decisions that use language that is clear for your intended readers.
Judicial officers from the Magistrates', Coroners, Children's, County, and Supreme Courts are invited to register for this program to learn:
- how to write clearly, concisely, and efficiently
- how to use narrative structure and voice
- frameworks for writing and structuring judgments.
Faculty:
The Hon. Kim Hargrave, Supreme Court of Victoria, will lead the faculty, which includes:
- Justice Kristen Walker, Supreme Court of Victoria
- Justice Cameron Macaulay, Supreme Court of Victoria
- Justice Paul Cosgrave, Supreme Court of Victoria
- Judge Fiona Todd, County Court of Victoria
Note: This program is open to judicial officers only. It begins on Wednesday 21 August, with a welcome dinner at 7:00 PM.
Speakers.
Former Judge of the Federal Court of Australia
The Hon Professor Peter Gray AM
The Hon Professor Peter Gray AM, a former Judge of the Federal Court of Australia, has held judicial appointments including President of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, Aboriginal Land Commissioner, and Deputy President of the Native Title Tribunal, among others. Professor Gray has held adjunct professorial and teaching positions at ANU, Deakin, Melbourne, Monash, and Swinburne Universities, where he taught subjects in language and the law and legal writing at the postgraduate level. Most recently, Professor Gray has completed a Master of Applied Linguistics and is a member of the International Association for Forensic and Legal Linguistics.
Former Judge of the Federal Court of Australia
The Hon Professor Peter Gray AM
The Hon Professor Peter Gray AM, a former Judge of the Federal Court of Australia, has held judicial appointments including President of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, Aboriginal Land Commissioner, and Deputy President of the Native Title Tribunal, among others. Professor Gray has held adjunct professorial and teaching positions at ANU, Deakin, Melbourne, Monash, and Swinburne Universities, where he taught subjects in language and the law and legal writing at the postgraduate level. Most recently, Professor Gray has completed a Master of Applied Linguistics and is a member of the International Association for Forensic and Legal Linguistics.
Author
Dr Don Watson
Over the past fifty years Don Watson’s articles, columns and reviews on politics, history and culture have appeared in most major Australian journals and newspapers. In recent years he has written regularly for the Monthly.
For many years he wrote political satire for the legendary Australian television and stage shows starring Max Gillies. His film writing includes The Man Who Sued God (starring Billy Connolly and Judy Davis) and Passion (Barbara Hershey and Richard Roxburgh).
For five years he was speechwriter to the Victorian Labor Premier, John Cain. In January 1993 he became Prime Minister Paul Keating’s speechwriter and adviser and remained in the role until the government’s defeat in March 1996.
His books include Caledonia Australis and the acclaimed best-sellers, Recollections of a Bleeding Heart (2002), Death Sentence (2003) and Watson’s Dictionary of Weasel Words (2004); American Journeys (2008), Bendable Learnings (2010), The Bush (2014), Worst Words (2015) A Single Tree, (2018), The Story of Australia (2021) and The Passion of Private White (2022). A collection of his writings, Watsonia, was published by Black Inc in 2020. He is also the author of two Quarterly Essays, the second of them, Enemy Within, on the 2016 US Election.
He has won The Age Book of the Year (twice) and the Independent Booksellers Book of the Year, the National Biography Award, Courier-Mail Book of the Year, Alfred Deakin Essay Prize, Australian Literary Studies Association Book of the Year, a Walkley Award, and the New South Wales Premier’s Award. In 2011 he was awarded the Phillip Hodgins Medal for Australian Literature.
Author
Dr Don Watson
Over the past fifty years Don Watson’s articles, columns and reviews on politics, history and culture have appeared in most major Australian journals and newspapers. In recent years he has written regularly for the Monthly.
For many years he wrote political satire for the legendary Australian television and stage shows starring Max Gillies. His film writing includes The Man Who Sued God (starring Billy Connolly and Judy Davis) and Passion (Barbara Hershey and Richard Roxburgh).
For five years he was speechwriter to the Victorian Labor Premier, John Cain. In January 1993 he became Prime Minister Paul Keating’s speechwriter and adviser and remained in the role until the government’s defeat in March 1996.
His books include Caledonia Australis and the acclaimed best-sellers, Recollections of a Bleeding Heart (2002), Death Sentence (2003) and Watson’s Dictionary of Weasel Words (2004); American Journeys (2008), Bendable Learnings (2010), The Bush (2014), Worst Words (2015) A Single Tree, (2018), The Story of Australia (2021) and The Passion of Private White (2022). A collection of his writings, Watsonia, was published by Black Inc in 2020. He is also the author of two Quarterly Essays, the second of them, Enemy Within, on the 2016 US Election.
He has won The Age Book of the Year (twice) and the Independent Booksellers Book of the Year, the National Biography Award, Courier-Mail Book of the Year, Alfred Deakin Essay Prize, Australian Literary Studies Association Book of the Year, a Walkley Award, and the New South Wales Premier’s Award. In 2011 he was awarded the Phillip Hodgins Medal for Australian Literature.
Author
Alice Pung OAM
Alice Pung is an award-winning author, journalist, lawyer and educator from Melbourne. Her non-fiction books Unpolished Gem, Her Father’s Daughter and Growing Up Asian in Australia have been set texts at schools and universities all around Australia and the US. She is a frequent contributor to the Monthly, Good Weekend and the Age. In 2015, Alice was awarded Sydney Morning Herald’s Young Novelist of the Year for her latest book Laurinda. Alice has been a judge of the Walkley Awards for Journalism as well as the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards.
In her capacity as a lawyer, Alice has a strong interest in human rights and workplace relations. Alice has been on ABC’s Big Ideas program, speaking against bigotry and proposed changes to the Racial Discrimination Act.
Alice’s passion is in education: she has worked for eleven years in the tertiary sector and is the current Artist-in-Residence at Janet Clarke Hall, the University of Melbourne. She has given guest lectures at Peking University, Vassar College, Brown University, the University of Iowa, the University of Bologna and the University of Milano, among other places. In 2010, Alice was selected by the US Department of State as one of ten writers from around the world to participate in their Fall and Recovery tour of disaster and conflict sites in America.
Alice is also an Ambassador to the 100 Story Building and Room to Read, as well as Les Twentyman’s Twentieth Man Fund.
Alice’s latest book is One Hundred Days, her first adult novel. It is a fractured fairytale about a mother and daughter, which explores the faultlines between love and control.
Author
Alice Pung OAM
Alice Pung is an award-winning author, journalist, lawyer and educator from Melbourne. Her non-fiction books Unpolished Gem, Her Father’s Daughter and Growing Up Asian in Australia have been set texts at schools and universities all around Australia and the US. She is a frequent contributor to the Monthly, Good Weekend and the Age. In 2015, Alice was awarded Sydney Morning Herald’s Young Novelist of the Year for her latest book Laurinda. Alice has been a judge of the Walkley Awards for Journalism as well as the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards.
In her capacity as a lawyer, Alice has a strong interest in human rights and workplace relations. Alice has been on ABC’s Big Ideas program, speaking against bigotry and proposed changes to the Racial Discrimination Act.
Alice’s passion is in education: she has worked for eleven years in the tertiary sector and is the current Artist-in-Residence at Janet Clarke Hall, the University of Melbourne. She has given guest lectures at Peking University, Vassar College, Brown University, the University of Iowa, the University of Bologna and the University of Milano, among other places. In 2010, Alice was selected by the US Department of State as one of ten writers from around the world to participate in their Fall and Recovery tour of disaster and conflict sites in America.
Alice is also an Ambassador to the 100 Story Building and Room to Read, as well as Les Twentyman’s Twentieth Man Fund.
Alice’s latest book is One Hundred Days, her first adult novel. It is a fractured fairytale about a mother and daughter, which explores the faultlines between love and control.
Author
Jock Serong
Jock Serong is a former criminal lawyer and member of the Victorian Bar. Since leaving legal practice in 2013, he has authored six novels, co-founded and edited the journal Great Ocean Quarterly, and written features for a wide range of media including The Sydney Morning Herald, The Monthly, The Guardian and Surfing World. Jock is currently a Board member of Melbourne’s Wheeler Centre. Current projects include writing for screen, mentoring, releasing an anthology of stories about Paul Kelly songs, and completing a new novel.
Author
Jock Serong
Jock Serong is a former criminal lawyer and member of the Victorian Bar. Since leaving legal practice in 2013, he has authored six novels, co-founded and edited the journal Great Ocean Quarterly, and written features for a wide range of media including The Sydney Morning Herald, The Monthly, The Guardian and Surfing World. Jock is currently a Board member of Melbourne’s Wheeler Centre. Current projects include writing for screen, mentoring, releasing an anthology of stories about Paul Kelly songs, and completing a new novel.
Author
Kate Mildenhall
Kate Mildenhall is an author, writing teacher and podcaster. Her debut novel Skylarking (2016) was longlisted for Debut Fiction in The Indie Book Awards 2017 and the 2017 Voss Literary Award. Her second novel, The Mother Fault (2020) was longlisted for the 2021 ABIA General Fiction Book of the Year and shortlisted for the 2021 Aurealis Science Fiction Novel of the Year. Her latest novel is The Hummingbird Effect (2023). For the past six years, Kate has co-hosted The First Time podcast where she has interviewed writers such as Tim Winton, Helen Garner, Richard Flanagan, Charlotte Wood and hundreds more. Kate is currently working on her fourth novel and undertaking a PhD in creative practice at RMIT University. Her first picture book will be released in 2024. Kate lives in Hurstbridge on Wurundjeri lands, with her partner and two children.
Author
Kate Mildenhall
Kate Mildenhall is an author, writing teacher and podcaster. Her debut novel Skylarking (2016) was longlisted for Debut Fiction in The Indie Book Awards 2017 and the 2017 Voss Literary Award. Her second novel, The Mother Fault (2020) was longlisted for the 2021 ABIA General Fiction Book of the Year and shortlisted for the 2021 Aurealis Science Fiction Novel of the Year. Her latest novel is The Hummingbird Effect (2023). For the past six years, Kate has co-hosted The First Time podcast where she has interviewed writers such as Tim Winton, Helen Garner, Richard Flanagan, Charlotte Wood and hundreds more. Kate is currently working on her fourth novel and undertaking a PhD in creative practice at RMIT University. Her first picture book will be released in 2024. Kate lives in Hurstbridge on Wurundjeri lands, with her partner and two children.
University of Auckland
Professor Helen Sword
Professor Helen Sword is scholar, poet, and master teacher whose research-based books on writing and writers include Stylish Academic Writing (Harvard 2012), The Writer's Diet (Chicago 2016), Air & Light & Time & Space: How Successful Academics Write (Harvard 2017) and Writing with Pleasure (Princeton 2023). She is Professor Emerita in the Faculty of Arts and the Centre for Arts and Social Transformation at the University of Auckland, a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand, and the recipient of several other major research and teaching awards. Helen has facilitated writing workshops at more than 100 universities, conferences, and research institutes in 25 countries and on every continent except Antarctica. See her website for links to writing resources including books, workshops, retreats, videos, innovative editing tools, and the WriteSPACE, an international writing community with members in 30+ countries.
University of Auckland
Professor Helen Sword
Professor Helen Sword is scholar, poet, and master teacher whose research-based books on writing and writers include Stylish Academic Writing (Harvard 2012), The Writer's Diet (Chicago 2016), Air & Light & Time & Space: How Successful Academics Write (Harvard 2017) and Writing with Pleasure (Princeton 2023). She is Professor Emerita in the Faculty of Arts and the Centre for Arts and Social Transformation at the University of Auckland, a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand, and the recipient of several other major research and teaching awards. Helen has facilitated writing workshops at more than 100 universities, conferences, and research institutes in 25 countries and on every continent except Antarctica. See her website for links to writing resources including books, workshops, retreats, videos, innovative editing tools, and the WriteSPACE, an international writing community with members in 30+ countries.