Happy New Year and new decade!

I have been a little quieter on media appearances recently due to some hefty terrorism trials and trying to draft my PhD thesis but I am looking forward to a bumper year in 2020 which is my 25^th Year at the Bar, 12 years as a media commentator, 10 years since publication of The Sexual Offences Handbook and my 8^th Year as an academic. I am particularly proud of my recent chapter Jogee How did it Happen in the edited edition Accessorial Liability after Jogee. The injustices in joint enterprise continue as famously only one appeal (England) and one petition for mercy (Australia) have been successful since the decision in R v Jogee , despite my best efforts in England and Wales, Australia, Hong Kong, the European Court of Human Rights and the International Criminal Court in the Hague.

In 2020 I am looking forward to the print publication of our novel paper Game Theory and the Human Trafficking Dilemma combining maths and law to demonstrate that tackling human trafficking in crime requires more than policy. I am also very pleased to be teaching my new unit at Deakin University Contemporary International Legal Challenges with separate intensive weeks on Climate Change Litigation, Modern Slavery and Terrorism. On the wellbeing front I managed 22 days ‘out of office’ over the holidays to potter about at home and to collect and restore a few antiques and art.

I hope that this newsletter inspires young lawyers, particularly women at the Bar, to cope with demands by keeping work interesting and learning when to take a break………