In the early weeks of my Presidency, I’ve had the honour to attend and speak at most of the swearings-in of the ten new magistrates whose appointments were announced last year by Attorney General Michael Daley.

A particularly pleasing aspect of these rapid-fire ceremonies (some two at a time) was that six out of ten of the new magistrate appointees came to the Local Court bench straight from the solicitor arm of the legal profession.

They are Arthur Aguirre, Michael Blair, Elizabeth Bushby, Lisa Graham, Pilar Lopez and Shaun Mortimer. I congratulate each one of them.

True, the Local Court bench features a greater proportion of solicitors than any of the higher jurisdictions and seems to be the first (and sometimes only) stop for solicitors appointed to judicial office. Of course, that hasn’t stopped my predecessors, and won’t stop me, from advocating that our higher court benches should feature more directly appointed solicitors.

After all, the second most senior judicial officer in NSW, President of the NSW Court of Appeal the Hon. Julie Ward, was a solicitor when her Honour was appointed to the Supreme Court.

The most common thread that links the Local Court’s newest solicitor appointees to judicial office, is their experience as solicitor advocates. Consistent with my President’s Priority to provide high quality career support to the profession, the Law Society continues to provide opportunities to learn and improve your in-court advocacy.

I am thrilled that the Deputy Chief Justice of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (FCFCOA), the Hon. Justice Robert McClelland AO, along with Senior Judicial Registrar Julianne Bardetta will be presenting a live webinar on Thursday next week, entitled, ‘Court craft in the FCFCOA’.

The 90-minute webinar (1.5. CPD units) will help sharpen the advocacy skills, and increase confidence for practitioners appearing in the FCFCOA and will cover:

• Preparing and presenting evidence;
• The art of written and oral submissions;
• Connecting your case to the legislation and rules in a meaningful way; and
• Adapting to the Courtroom you find yourself in.

This webinar is complimentary for members, and you can book your place here.

There will obviously be occasions when a barrister may be the best choice to present your client’s matter in court. But, if you have the inclination to rise to your feet to stretch your advocacy muscles, who knows how far you might ascend.

Jennifer Ball, President, Law Society of NSW