Return to the halcyon days of advocate and witness personal appearance

Recently in Montenegro v Legal Profession Admission Board (No 2) [2022] NSWSC 1101 – where the plaintiff was a self-represented lawyer – Campbell J of the New South Wales Supreme Court wrote: 

…Mr Montenegro, who is the plaintiff/applicant in these proceedings, applied for leave to appear by audio visual link, and I made that order yesterday in chambers on medical grounds. However,…litigants should understand that the readiness with which the Court was prepared to offer AVL hearings during the height of the pandemic before a very large proportion of the population was vaccinated has come to an end. It is the expectation of the Chief Justice of New South Wales that the Court’s procedures will return to normal, that is to say, they will be conducted in public and that parties and witnesses will generally, except for very good cause, appear in person in the courtroom assigned to the judge who is to hear the matter.