The home of news, views and analysis for the WA legal profession

Opinion - Page 3

Views and opinions from across the profession.

Legal updates·Opinion

Less jail, better justice? Lessons from the UK’s new sentencing Act

April 14, 2026

Isobel Millward, Juris Doctor student at UWA, considers UK sentencing reforms from an Australian context.

Legal updates·Opinion

Understanding Standing Orders: the operating system of the Legislative Assembly

April 1, 2026

Sergeant-at-Arms/Clerk Assistant (Procedure) Thomas Moorhead delves into the details of Standing Orders.

March 30, 2026

Beyond the textbooks: our first year as graduate lawyers

There is a particular moment most junior lawyers remember: sitting at their desk, opening an email, and realising there isn’t a model answer waiting somewhere in their notes.

March 27, 2026

Stepping up to the bar table

Felix Attard shares candid insights from judicial officers on preparation, courtroom conduct, and persuasion, offering practical guidance to build confidence at the bar table.

Opinion

Where did we come from, where did we go? How PLT came to be in WA

Kate Wellington traces the colourful and often circular journey of PLT in WA, and asks: how far have we really come?

November 7, 2025

Opinion

Rethinking Gillick: empowering young people’s right to decide

Gillick competence transformed how the law views minors’ autonomy in healthcare. Yet decades later, uncertainty, inconsistency and judicial paternalism continue to limit its power to truly protect young people’s decision-making.

October 30, 2025

Opinion

PLT rules are frozen in time. Reforming them matters

PLT reform is not about making life easier for students. It is about making the profession stronger, writes Elisha Rose.

October 21, 2025

Opinion

From typewriters to laptops: a lawyer’s journey through 50 years of change

Join John Butler as he travels through the last half century as a legal professional.

October 15, 2025

Opinion

Apologies and discounted damages: incentive or weapon?

Should defendants who apologise for negligently inflicted personal injuries be rewarded with a lower award of damages? Or is this taking incentive-based arguments for apologies too far?

October 7, 2025

Opinion

As Richard Boyle’s case ends, Australia’s whistleblower protection laws must change

While Richard Boyle ultimately avoided jail time and a conviction, prosecutions like Boyle’s have a chilling effect on whistleblowers.

September 15, 2025

Opinion

PLT providers are crucial, but must be more than mere box-tickers

The essential problem in my view, and certainly one shared by Chief Justice Bell, is that PLT run by the big providers is generally not practical at all.

September 11, 2025

Opinion

Surrogacy law reforms are long overdue, but there’s still work to be done

Removing barriers to domestic surrogacy is the least we can do to mitigate the risks of cross-border international surrogacy, writes Sarah Jefford OAM.

September 5, 2025

Opinion

Editor’s opinion: Time for the LPB’s reckoning

Across countless oat flat whites and pints quaffed by Perth practitioners, many a tale of the LPB has been told, writes Brief Editor-at-Large Michael Douglas.

September 2, 2025

Opinion

Chief Justice Stephen Gageler: Reflections on the great Sir Ronald Wilson

During a recent High Court visit to Perth, Chief Justice Stephen Gageler AC reflected on his very first meeting with one of Western Australia’s greatest legal minds.

August 22, 2025