Leading Australian Politician is Key Speaker at Mormon Lawyers Society Event

Nick Xenophon, an independent federal Senator from South Australia, was a key speaker at a meeting of an international society of Mormon lawyers in Adelaide recently.

The lawyers, members of the J Reuben Clark Law Society, were meeting to promote public service and professional excellence in a three day gathering.  They were participating in the Eighth Annual Australasia-Pacific-Asia Regional Conference of the organisation.

The J Reuben Clark Law Society is an international society of lawyers who are, in the main, but by no means exclusively, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There are over 12,000 members of the Society.

It includes judges, practising lawyers and law students throughout the world. Members have as their motto, “We affirm the strength brought to the law by a lawyer’s personal religious conviction. We strive through public service and professional excellence to promote fairness and virtue founded upon the rule of law.”

Participants in the Adelaide event came from all states of Australia, New Zealand and as far away as Shanghai, China. It was an opportunity to renew old friendships, meet interested non-members of the Society, fellowship with new members and law students, participate in stimulating seminars, enjoy socialising and to be spiritually refreshed at the devotional. 

In his remarks during the first panel of the academic sessions of the conference, Senator Xenophon addressed two topics of a critical nature to the free exercise of religion.  Participating in the same session was Dr Keith Thompson, formerly an Area Legal Counsel for the Church, now a senior lecturer in law at the University of Notre Dame, Sydney.

The first panel discussed the importance to religious bodies of the ‘confessional’ - the opportunity for members of a faith to reveal sins and errors to a religious leader knowing that their discussions will be held in confidence. 

Senator Xenophon shared many of the LDS beliefs regarding religious confessionals. Important to him was that while protecting the innocent and, in particular, children, confessions not be used as a shelter from legal process for the guilty perpetrator. He wants legal reforms that strike that balance.

He also addressed the question of tax exemptions for charities, including religious groups that operate as charities. While expressing high regard for the way in which the LDS Church used its charitable status, he had concern regarding other organisations with a less scrupulous approach to this status.

Senator Xenophon’s session was followed by a session on religious anti-vilification laws presented by Associate Professor Neil Foster of University of Newcastle Law School, Dr Augusto Zimmermann of Murdoch University Law School and Ms Cornelia Koch of Adelaide University Law School. 

Last October, Dr Zimmerman, who is a commissioner in the Australian Law Reform Commission, attended Brigham Young University’s International Law and Religion Symposium in Provo Utah, accompanied by Adelaide members of the Society, Dr Ping Xiong and Neville Rochow SC.

Society members were then engaged in the final session by a series of hypotheticals on professional ethical questions, presented by local barrister, Jonathan Wells QC and Professor Suzanne Le Mire of the Adelaide University Law School.

For eight years, the J. Reuben Clark Law Society chapters of Australia and New Zealand have taken their turn in hosting the annual conference. This year, in hosting the conference, the Adelaide chapter partnered with the University of Adelaide Law School Research Unit for the study of Society Law and Religion (RUSSLR) and a local charity (Catherine House) for two parts of the conference.

The chapter also worked with well-known Australian artists who donated works for auction at the conference gala dinner. The conference profits and the proceeds from the art auction have been donated to Catherine House to be used in its work assisting homeless women to find new lives through shelter, education and employment.

Among the social events of the conference, the program began on Friday evening in the home of one of the local chapter members, Neville Rochow SC, a local Mormon barrister.  Members and guests were welcomed by local chapter chair and member of the organising committee, Helen Black.

[SCs, or Senior Counsel, are a select group of barristers who are qualified to handle the most significant of legal cases.  Formerly known as QCs or Queen’s Counsel, only two members of the Mormon faith in Australia are in this category: Philip Taylor, now a District Court judge, who practised in New South Wales, and Mr Rochow, who is based in South Australia.]

They were then treated to an excellent blend of modern Australian and Asian cuisine, prepared by widely-known television personality and celebrity chef, Poh Ling Yeow, assisted by her mentor and mother, Christina Yeow, both of whom kindly donated their “extraordinary” culinary skills.

On Saturday evening, over 100 conference delegates and guests, including members of the Adelaide legal profession and members of the local LDS Church, gathered at the Old Adelaide Gaol for the conference gala dinner, “Jailhouse Rock”.

Volunteers from Catherine House served as waiters. Madge Maguire, CEO of Catherine House, addressed the assembled group to explain more of the work of Catherine House and to thank the Society and volunteers for their contribution to the work.

During the evening, a silent auction was held of art works. Poh Ling Yeow, and lawyer artists, Nona Burden and Bill Botten, donated their own works.   Barrister Natalie Charlesworth and solicitor Julie Redman donated works from their own collections.

With the profits of the conference, proceeds from the art auction and the donations of those in attendance, Catherine House received over $15,000 as a contribution to its invaluable work.

On Sunday morning, Church Area Legal Counsel, Arthur Edgson, was the principal speaker at the devotional that closed the conference. According to organising committee member, Neville Rochow, Mr Edgson “informed, inspired and motivated members to contribute with their combination of legal skills and spiritual knowledge in a way that is unique to members of the Society.”