Research biography

Vivien's research focuses on the legal profession, legal ethics and legal education. Most recently, she has investigated ( with colleagues Stephen Tang and Tony Foley) the influence of ethical climate on the wellbeing and job satisfaction of new lawyers. She has written on the effectiveness of the Giving Voice to Values curriculum in law, a curriculum that focuses on building skills for ethical action. She worked with colleagues Tony Foley and Stephen Tang and Margie Rowe on an empirical study into the transition of law graduates into legal practice and then on an study of the ethical climate of Australian legal practice workplaces. Vivien has explored the links between professionalism, ethics and wellbeing, including the important connections between values/professionalism and wellbeing in individuals, law schools and legal practices. Vivien is a regular presenter at the International Legal Ethics Conferences.

Books & edited collections

• Parker & Evans's Inside Lawyers' Ethics 4th Edition by Vivien Holmes and Francesca Bartlett (Cambridge University Press, 2023)

Refereed journal articles

• 'Harnessing the Winds of Change' 2022 The Law Teacher 56(1)130-144 (special issue on wellbeing) (withe Anne MacDuff)
• 'Sexual Harassment & Legal Profession Regulation: Is Strengthening Ethical Culture the Answer?' (2021) Law Institute Journal 20
• 'Ethical Climate, Job Satisfaction and Wellbeing: Observations from an Empirical Study of New Australian lawyers' (2020) 33 Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics 1035 (with Stephen Tang & Tony Foley)
• 'Ethical Misconduct by New Australian Lawyers: Prevalence and Prevention' International Journal of the Legal Profession (22 May, 2020) (with Stephen Tang & Tony Foley)
• 'Regulating Lawyers' Law Institute Journal ( May, 2017)24 (with Tony Foley, Stephen Tang, Margie Rowe)
• 'Therapeutic Jurisprudence in the Coronial Jurisdiction' (2016) 25 Journal of Judicial Administration 134 (with Isabel Roper)
• 'Giving Voice To Values:' Enhancing Students' Capacity to cope with Ethical Challenges in Legal Practice' (2015) 18 (2) Legal Ethics 115
• 'What makes for a happy, healthy, ethical lawyer? How do we help our junior lawyers thrive?' Law institute Journal September 2015
• 'Practising Professionalism: Observations from an Empirical Study of New Australian Lawyers' (2012) 15 (1) Legal Ethics 29
• 'Teaching Professionalism in Legal Clinic – What New Practitioners Say is Important' (2012) 17 International Journal of Clinical Legal Education
• 'The Power of Rationalisation to Influence Lawyers' Decisions to Act Unethically' 11(2) Legal Ethics 137

Book chapters

• 'Values: the flip side of the well-being coin' in Strevens & Field Educating for Well-being in Law. Positive Professional Identities and Practice. (Routledge, 2019)
• 'Australian Legal Practice: Ethical Climate and Ethical Climate Change' in Levy et al, New Directions for Law in Australia: Essays in Contemporary Law Reform (ANU E Press, 2017) (with Stephen Tang, Tony Foley and Margie Rowe)
• 'Values, Ethics and Wellbeing' in Being Well in the Law (2016) NSW Law Society: lawsociety.com.au/ForSolictors/professionalsupport/supportingyou/BeingWellintheLaw/index.htm
• 'Applied Ethics for Lawyers' in P. Bowden (ed) Applied Ethics.Strengthening Ethical Practices (2012) with Tom Campbell
• "Our Common Future: The Imperative for Contextual Ethics in a Connected World'; F. Bartlett, R. Mortensen. K Tranter (ed) Alternative Perspectives on Lawyers and Legal Ethics. Reimagining the Profession; Routledge (Research in Legal Ethics series) (2011) with Simon Rice
• 'What is the right thing to do? Reflections on the AWB scandal and legal ethics.' in Jeremy Farrall & Kim Rubenstein; Sanctions; Accountability and Governance in a Globalised World; Cambridge (2009)

Conference papers & presentations

• 'Climate Strikers Go to Law School' presented at the Legal Education Research Conference 'Teaching as a Subversive Activity', UNSW, 28-29 November 2019
• 'Appreciating the human complexity in a Family Court judge's work' with Stephen Tang at Family Court Judges Conference, Sydney, August 2019.
• 'The Implications of Artificial Intelligence for the Delivery of Legal Services – What Does the Future Hold for Lawyers, Law Firms and Legal Education?' presented at the International Legal Ethics Conference, University of Melbourne, December 2018, (with Anthony Davis, Colombia University Law School)
• 'Weather Ahead: the influence of ethical climate on newly admitted lawyers', presented at the International Legal Ethics Conference, University of Melbourne, December 2018 (with Tony Foley, Stephen Tang)
• 'Values, ethics and wellbeing' presentation at ANU Legal Office training day, 28 November 2018. Legal Office lawyers entitled to CPD points for ethics for this session
• 'Ethical Misconduct by Australian Young Lawyers: Prevalence and Prevention' at Workshop on Regulating Lawyers Through Disciplinary Systems, Institute for the Sociology of Law, Onati, Spain, 26-27 April 2018 ( with Tony Foley, Stephen Tang).
• 'Values: the flip side of the wellbeing coin' at the National Wellness for Law Forum, Bond University, Gold Coast, 15-16 February 2018
• 'Weather Ahead: The Influence of Ethical Climate on Pscyhological Wellbeing and Professionalism in Newly Admitted Lawyers' at National Wellness for Law Forum, Bond University,Gold Coast, 15-16 February 2018 (with Stephen Tang).
• 'Walking the talk. How do we use our knowledge of BE to improve our ethical decision making and action?' at the International Legal Ethics Conference VII, New York, 14-16 July 2016
• 'Weather Ahead: The Ethical Climate in which Australian Lawyers Work' at the International Legal Ethics Conference VII, New York, 14-16 July 2016
• 'The behaviour of the lawyers acting for the church in the Ellis case / 'Melbourne response' matters' as part of a panel on 'Lawyers and Moral Conversations' at the Australia New Zealand Legal Ethics Colloquium, Melbourne, 3-4 December 2015.
• 'Pre Admission Training: Developing Students' Capacity to Cope with Ethical Dilemmas in Legal Practice' at BABSEA CLE Pro Bono Conference and Legal Ethics Forum, Mandalay, Myanmar, September 2015
• 'Ethical Issues for Government Lawyers' (with Lauren Honcope, ANU) ACT Law Society Government Law CPD session, March 2015
• 'Enhancing wellbeing AND one's capacity to deal effectively with ethical dilemmas in legal practice' (with Liz Curran and Anneka Ferguson) at the National Wellness for Law Forum – ANU 5-6 February 2015
• 'Wellbeing, Professional Identity and Satisfying the Human Need for Striving: Preliminary Evidence from Newly-Admitted Australian Lawyers' (with Tony Foley, Stephen Tang and Margie Rowe) at the National Wellness for Law Forum – ANU 5-6 February 2015

Committees

EXTERNAL ORGANISATIONS

• ACT Law Society Complaints Committee

Case notes & book reviews

• 'Pro bono and Ethics Build a Noble Profession: Asia Pro Bono Conference & Legal Ethics Forum, Mandalay, Myanmar, September 2015' Report 18 Legal Ethics

Currently supervising

• Andrew Henderson

  Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

  Topic:The effect of law school's implicit curriculum on law students' perceptions of life after law school (https://implicitcurriculumresearch.wordpress.com/)

LLM Masters thesis supervision

I am willing to supervise in the areas:

• Legal Ethics
• Professional Responsibility
• The Legal Profession

Honours thesis supervision

I am willing to supervise in the areas:

• Legal Ethics
• Professional Responsibility
• The Legal Profession

I have previously supervised:

• Coroners and Therapeutic Jurisprudence
• Behavioural Legal Ethics

Current courses

Class #4098

Class #4152

Class #7143

Class #7144

Class #7465

Class #7466

Previous courses

Class #7233

Class #5705

Philosophy & approach

My philosophy of teaching is being heavily influenced by recent research in neuroscience and in particular the place of emotion in learning. My own research into behavioural ethics (or moral psychology) has deepened my understanding of the many non-rational influences on human behavior. In relation to learning, I am realizing just how important it is to engage students' emotions, if they are to learn anything of consequence and then use what they have learned in wise decision making. I believe teachers should provide a challenging, but safe place for students to try things out: as Damasio has noted that 'not enough emotion is detrimental to learning and so is too much'. So my aim is that students will get emotionally involved (engaged, interested, perhaps even a bit nervous at times) in their learning.

I am conscious of the importance of providing students with opportunities to learn not just technical legal skills, but generic life skills (communicating in plain English; how to act on your values; the importance of knowing yourself and looking after yourself; team work) that will stand them in good stead whatever their career path.

I am a strong believer in problem based learning - allowing students to work through a real world problem while grappling with the knowledge and skills they need to resolve it.

Teaching awards

Past courses

• 2011 - 2015: Professional Practice Core (GDLP) Legal Ethics