Ms Olivia Kelly
Biography:
Dr Nina Hudson is a Senior Research Fellow at the Tasmania Law Reform Institute, conducting research on legal safeguarding against the abuse of older Tasmanians and on family violence legal services. Nina is also a Research Fellow in the Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence team at the Australian Institute of Family Studies. Her work includes delivering judicial education programs for the National Judicial College of Australia. Nina is a co-editor for the special issue on judicial and lawyer wellbeing and stress of vol 31(3) of Psychiatry, Psychology and Law (June 2024). She is also the editorial assistant for the journal.
Dr. Tina Popa is a Senior Lecturer in Law at RMIT University. Her research and teaching focus on tort law, health law, psychiatric harm, law and wellbeing, and appropriate dispute resolution. Dr. Popa researches legal issues related to medical negligence compensation, no-fault compensation systems, and psychiatric harm, as well as non-adversarial approaches to justice in tort and health law. Recently, she completed a Graduate Diploma in Psychology and a fourth-year research thesis in forensic psychology. Her emerging research interests delve into the intersection of law and psychology, particularly wellbeing in the legal sector.
Abstract:
This is one of two symposium submissions focused on judicial and lawyer wellbeing and stress, following the publication of a special issue dedicated to this subject in volume 31(3) of 2024 of ANZAPPL’s journal, Psychiatry, Psychology and Law. The symposium submissions include abstracts from some of the special issue contributors, proposing presentations which either expand on their published research or share new research. Therefore, the proposed symposiums build on the perspectives and research explored within the special issue.
Over the past 15 years, recognition has grown of the individual and systemic stressors experienced by those working in the law in Australia and New Zealand. Given local and international concern regarding the impacts of these stressors on the wellbeing of judicial officers and legal professionals, it is timely to gather perspectives and research at the 2024 ANZAPPL Congress, building on the publication in the same year of the special issue. The wellbeing of judicial officers and lawyers and impacts of stress has implications for their ability to employ their expertise so critical to working within legal systems and the inherent validity of these systems.
The topics in these symposiums continue the critical conversations commenced by the special issue on the sources and impacts of occupational stress (Symposium 1), while also providing research evidence to inform responsive and preventative action (Symposium 2). In doing so, they respond to the call to action in the special issue of the need for future research on behalf of those who work within the justice system.