Delivering on a tradition of service for the profession
President's Message | 25 March 2024
Towards the beginning of this year, I mentioned in this message that I would be embarking upon one of the first and most significant tasks that falls to Presidents of the Law Society of NSW at the beginning of each year: familiarising legal leaders such as the Chief Justice, other heads of jurisdiction, and the Attorney General with issues our profession faces.
Over a period of around three weeks, I attended 13 such “credential visits”. The discussions at these meetings presented a valuable opportunity to represent your concerns to those responsible for setting policy in our courts and in the justice system. The final meeting I attended last week had personal and professional significance for me as I represented Law Society members to my old boss, the Chief Justice of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, the Hon. Will Alstergren AO KC.
As intangible as it might seem, the advocacy opportunities this sort of access enables represent a real and practical benefit to members of the Law Society. No less than the value and quality we deliver through our Continuing Professional Development programs or the free guidance for practitioners on ethical questions, and our sessions on wellbeing through our Staying Well in the Law series.
The hundreds of volunteer solicitors on our policy and practice committees contribute to bettering the profession, including by delivering guidance documents such as last week’s publication of our introductory guidance and strategies for the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination. I want to thank Magistrate Imad Abdul-Karim for providing an inspiring keynote for the launch of this guidance, marking the 76th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The Law Society delivers career-spanning support for the profession, extending to as early as pre-admission, with last Wednesday’s 2024 Law Students Careers Summit with over 900 registrations. As practitioners gain expertise in a chosen area of law, our Specialist Accreditation program provides a path to recognise their status as an expert.
The 2024 Specialist Program areas are Dispute Resolution, Employment & Industrial Law, Family Law, Immigration Law, Personal Injury, Planning & Environment Law and Public Law. If you’re considering applying for the program or would like more information, click here or email [email protected]. I encourage you to apply by the closing date, next Sunday 31 March.
For those who already have Specialist Accreditation, or practitioners who want advanced learning, this year’s Specialist Accreditation Conference takes place on 15-16 August at the ICC, offering 10 CLE units for each stream: Business Law, Family Law, Property Law, Personal Injury, and Wills and Estates. Keep an eye out for super early bird tickets on sale 1 April. For more than 180 years, the Law Society has been uniting the profession and serving it. I’m honoured to be the latest of 80 Presidents continuing that tradition.
Brett McGrath, President, Law Society of NSW
