The email accounts of Victorian barristers were accessed as part of an investigation into the production of a homophobic notice, the Victorian Bar Council says.
The council started the investigation after the notice was posted in the lifts of prominent law chambers Owen Dixon Chambers East on 10 August 2022.
The notice, which claimed to be from the bar and was written under its letterhead, referenced a committee that was seeking new members but stated that “white, male heterosexuals” need not apply.
In a statement obtained by Guardian Australia which was sent to Victorian barristers on Tuesday by the president of the Victorian bar, Sam Hay KC, the council says that members’ emails were accessed in mid-August last year.
The notice referred to a spoof “LGBTQMS” review committee, with the letters “MS” standing for “mud screwers”. The council used software to search for the term “LGBTQMS” in a bid to uncover the barrister who had posted it.
“That software returned a number of hits that were responsive to the search term,” the council said.
“Most were immediately disregarded as irrelevant to the investigation with approximately 10 emails identified as being of interest.
“A [bar council] employee reviewed the subject lines of those emails and one email was opened and read.”
While that search uncovered the person allegedly responsible for the notice, the council said it wished to assure members that no such access would occur again unless authorised by law and it was reviewing the council’s privacy and information management policies.
“There is now a very clear and shared understanding between [the bar council] and the Victorian Bar that the electronic environments used by members are to be maintained in the strictest confidence and will only be interrogated under the compulsion or authorisation of law (as would be the case for any third-party internet service provider),” Hay said.
“All terms and conditions concerning the use of email and privacy are being reviewed and updated to reflect this shared understanding.”
When contacted by Guardian Australia, Hay said he did not wish to comment further.
The notice had called for nominations for membership to the spoof “LGBTQMS” review committee.
“Members of the Bar identifying with one (or more) of the minority groups represented by the anagram above have expressed concerns that briefs from various large litigators both governmental and private have not been disproportionately directed to them,” the notice said in part.
“It is resolved to form a subcommittee to investigate the basis of this concern, how many barristers are affected and what steps can be taken to alleviate the situation.
“Membership is open to all members of more than ten years call, be they junior or silk, who fall into at least one of the categories, thus, white, male heterosexuals will not be eligible to serve.”
The previous bar council president, Róisín Annesley KC, condemned the notice in a statement sent on 11 August, and said the council was investigating.
On 17 August, Annesley said she had made a complaint to the Legal Services Commissioner about a member of the Bar in respect of the offensive notice.
