"I am sorry to say, but you can't dismiss the possibility of there being a 'bar advisor' such as Trip Advisor where one can see comments on particular barristers, their stars, their pricing – 'I got good value from X today, pretty cheap' or 'I got the opposite'. It can and will happen."

Six principles could reshape law

The Chief Justice, a former leading commercial barrister, suggested the six principles laid out by Commissioner Kenneth Hayne – obey the law, do not mislead or deceive, be fair, provide services that are fit for purpose, deliver services with reasonable care and skill, and when acting for another, act in the best interests of that other – could reshape commercial law.

He noted Mr Hayne had drawn attention to the fact that the Banking Code of Conduct was "enforceable only at the behest of aggrieved customers" who mostly could not afford litigation.

"This does suggest that there might be moves to incorporate this code under a provision like section 51ACB of the Competition and Consumer Act which provides that a corporation must not 'contravene an applicable industry code'."

High Court Chief Justice Susan Kiefel says the bar "may need to readjust its focus to skills such as critical thinking and persuasion".

The Chief Justice also cited the debate around the key change in the draft fourth edition of the ASX's governance principles – the concept of a social licence to operate – and how it had "been decried as inconsistent with the fundamental principle that directors owe their duties to the company and not to any other persons.

"It remains to be seen whether the draft changes will be adopted. However, it seems increasingly likely that either what have traditionally been soft law principles will be translated into hard legal obligations under a principles-based approach, or that existing soft law obligations, which still serve important regulatory functions, will expand in scope."


He said clients "want your views".

"No-one likes an eleven-page advice, five pages learnedly saying why a particular proposition is correct, five pages saying why it is not, with the eleventh page blank.

"But the future will involve more than simply providing views on particular legal topics. Barristers will be expected to formulate views as to what is feasibly to be achieved by litigation or another form of dispute resolution, and in doing so, provide holistic solutions that meet the needs of the client."

Chief Justice Kiefel said the way in which lawyers and the courts work "will be changed, perhaps even fundamentally" by changes in artificial intelligence and machine learning.

She noted it had already had moved into areas such as discovery "where questions as to whether predictive coding should be used in cases involving large numbers of documents have been raised".

"A simpler question might be whether the process has real utility."

She said that in "in order to survive, the legal profession, and the Bar in particular, may need to readjust its focus to skills such as critical thinking and persuasion that cannot easily be replaced by technological innovation".

"Having skills which are marketable may not be enough to ensure the continuing relevance of the Bar. Its relevance will depend largely upon society's perception of it and what it stands for...

"Integrity, independence, and intellectual rigour, obedience to their duty to the courts and a strong sense of public duty .. are the characteristics which must be maintained if the Bar is to remain relevant".