Becoming aware, staying aware, recognising when our important institutions, like the Courts of Law and those who work in them need renovating and updating and being involved: The 1993 Women and the Law Conference at Melbourne, Australia, held a torch above what was a current public debate focussing especially on judicial attitudes and their impact on women.

Three hundred people attended the Conference. A selection of the papers presented are revisited and collected here, together with strategies for the future compiled at the conclusion of the Conference. They are published to inform a wider audience and remind us all that the work of reform of our legal system has not stopped and must continue.