LSS Statement Regarding the Recent ‘Firm Spy’ Article

Last Friday, 9 September Firm Spy published an article that reported on the VCLSS Women in the Law Breakfast and a number of internal LSS issues.

We would like to take the opportunity to address some of the many factual inaccuracies contained within the article. The following list is not exhaustive:

• The LSS President has made a formal apology to the LSS Women’s Officers for communicating with Firm Spy.
• At no point have the LSS Women’s Officers contacted Firm Spy or made comments on the Firm Spy website following the articles publication.
• The Women’s Officers organised a number of successful events/initiatives, with the support of the LSS Committee.
• The original email referred to in the article was not sent from the generic LSS Women’s Officers email account.
• The original email was not intended to be a threat to the LSS President.
• The Women in the Law Breakfast is not the ‘University of Melbourne’s premiere (sic.) Faculty of Law event.’ It is not run by the University of Melbourne, Melbourne Law School or Melbourne University Law Students’ Society, but by the Victorian Council of Law Students’ Societies.
• The LSS Committee was responsible for selling tickets for the event only and played no part in the organisation of the event.
• At no point were the Women’s Officers or the LSS President asked to MC the event.
• The Women in the Law Breakfast event was highly successful, and was never ‘in a state of disarray.’
• The LSS President supported the Women in the Law Breakfast and attended on the day.
• The LSS Committee did not consider abolishing the LSS Women’s Officer position.
• At no stage did the LSS President intend on running for re-election.
• The LSS Women’s Officers did not resign in protest or after months of hostility. They resigned because the LSS President made statements to Firm Spy.