Annual Report 2007 
Our People
It seems to have been a year for moving on to other things. Both Patrick O'Halloran and David Schreuder decided to spend some time overseas and Ros Atkinson has taken up a full-time senior position with Youth and Family Focus, an organisation with which she has had a long association.
Ros Atkinson moving away allowed us to reconsider the way we deliver our specialised Safe at Home services in the North and Northwest. We advertised in a way that would allow us to appoint a single person who could work full-time across the whole North, if a suitable candidate appeared. We were pleased to find Yvonne Masters, who had significant experience in similar areas in the Northern Territory. She now works out of our Launceston and Devonport offices.
Our Devonport office welcomed Tim Mills (criminal law) and Alexandra Boote (family law) who joined Kerryne Barwick and Sasha Wong. That gave us three criminal lawyers in Devonport, so when Patrick O'Halloran went overseas, Sasha Wong moved down to the Launceston office.
That office was also joined this year by Anthea d'Emden, who joined Sally Hunt in our family law practice, and Christine Arnott. Christine is working with us part-time as our second in-house Family Dispute Resolution mediator. She is also helping us with some aspects of running the office. Rachael Krinks joined our team of assistants.
In Hobart, David Schreuder's departure, and a long-term maternity leave, gave us the opportunity to appoint David Sikk and Patrick Dixon to our criminal law practice. And toward the end of the year, as a consequence of additional funding being promised by the State government for 2007/2008, we brought Moya Cassidy on board to prepare the initiatives the Commission had decided to take in the field of representing persons appearing before the various tribunals dealing with mental health issues.
As part of the arrangements accompanying the new Legal Practitioners' Agreement, there was a process set up to review the transitions of legal practitioners from the old skills and salary classifications to the new ones. During the year the first stage of that process was completed and three of our legal practitioners were promoted, as recognition of the increased complexity and responsibility involved in their work. Congratulations to Byron Cross, Eve Murray and Kristen Wylie. The transition review process was still considering further possible promotions at the end of 2006/2007.