First to know

We ensure our members are the first to know about changes in the law. Knowing first helps you to identify opportunities, manage risks and provide better advice for your clients.

You can choose from the various channels that we use to keep you abreast of topical issues and changes in the law.

• Comprehensive COVID-19 resource hub for the legal profession
• Free and discounted face-to-face, livecast and on-demand informative events
• Practitioner resources through our Knowledge Centre
• Facebook Live events
• Emerge Newsletter- curated content for practitioners in their formative years of practice
• QLS Update, our weekly e-newsletter
• Every issues of Proctor, our monthly magazine
• QLS blogs LawTalk and First Reading

• Dedicated Relationship Manager for early career lawyers.

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Support

Being a lawyer can present unique challenges and pressures. We understand these profound challenges. Our services help you to find balance, manage workplace challenges and lead a healthy life.

Through our LawCare services you can access financial and career advice support, wellbeing and nutritional support, and personal counselling (including individual counselling for your family members). We provide you with up to six hours of counselling sessions and additional support if more is required. Our other wellbeing offerings include: 

• Our annual touch football competition
• Wellbeing events including LawWeek, Queensland Mental Health Week and early career lawyer activities
• LawCare seminars

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Education

Whether you are an early career lawyer who is wanting skills to use immediately or a leader who is ready to take the leap into a business management role, we offer programs that are specifically designed to suit your career-stage circumstances.

Choose how you want to learn and when you want to learn with options including:

• Bespoke practice support and firm-based ethics workshops
• Conferences and events such as our annual Symposium, Legal Careers Expo and Succession and Elder Law Conference
• Face-to-face continuing professional development programs, livecast sessions and on-demand resources
• Modern Advocate Lecture Series
• Practice Management Course
• Specialist Accreditation – your legal expertise recognised in your area of practice.

Our educational events help to ensure you achieve all of your annual CPD points.

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Guidance

QLS offers ethical guidance, practice support and information for the profession and the public. Whatever the issue, we’re here to help our members navigate their way to a solution.

Rest assured you will be supported with an array of guidance. Members have access to:

• Phone Hotline – a first point of contact to help you understand and address ethical concerns
• Guidance statements – discrete wisdom on ethical issues
• Non-binding ethics rulings – to help you to reduce ethics disputes with other members
• Our Senior Counsellors – confidential, free advice and support service
• Law Foundation support services 
• A large suite of legal profession forms and legislation and cyber security resources
• Supreme Court Library of Queensland’s free* online resources (LexisNexis, Thomas Reuters, Oxford University Press, Federation Press and CCH), training and education and sentencing information.

* If your firm holds ten or less practising certificates until at least 10 July 2020.

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Connection

Vote or nominate in the bi-annual Council election and help steer our future course. Alternatively, showcase your expertise and passion for the profession by presenting at our events and education programs.

Unfortunately, a number of events had to be cancelled or postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but we are now busy planning a calendar online and face-to-face events that will keep you connected to your peers and profession.

You can choose from an array of opportunities to connect:

• Our annual member New Year celebration
• Regional roadshows, workshops and events
• Our annual ball

These and many more networking opportunities allow you to connect with specialist accredited practitioners, mediators, arbitrators and young professionals.

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A voice for all

With an ever-changing political, social and legal landscape, we offer a professional when matters of legal policy and reform arise. We also champion diversity and reconciliation.

Some of the ways we work for good law and the public good are through:

• 24 policy committees and working groups
• Delayed judgments service
• Our submissions on draft legislation
• Our advocacy campaigns
• Law Council of Australia (LCA) representation.

We also support diversity-promoting associations and other initiatives, such as Reconciliation Action Plans and Pride in Law.

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Protection

Members, their practices and the profession in general are protected with legal profession insurance and QLS regulation of the profession by the issue of practising certificates.

We can also offer you protection through:

• the Professional Indemnity Insurance Scheme helps you limit your losses and protects your business with capped liability
• providing free QLS Cyber Essentials Insurance for those practices protected by our Professional Indemnity Insurance Scheme 
• advisory services to support the profession in meeting required standards
• issuing PCs to set standards and auditing practices to ensure those standards are met.

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Recognition

QLS recognises hard work, sacrifice and commitment – both in our members and in the community through:

• a robust Member Rewards program
• pin ceremony and honorary membership for those celebrating 25 and 50 years in the profession
• our annual legal profession dinner and awards 
• member profiles and judiciary appointments published across our social media channels and publications.
• the professional use of the QLS Member Logo

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