If there’s an annual celebration that represents the Law Society of NSW’s signature event for the year, it’s the Annual Members’ Dinner and Awards Night. This year, the inspiration for the event last Friday, was Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night; an appropriate theme to honour solicitors whose service shines brightly.

One of the greatest privileges of leading the Law Society is the responsibility of choosing the solicitor who has distinguished themselves through their service to the rule of law and the community, such that they have earned the President’s Medal.

We regard the President’s Medal as the premier NSW award for the legal profession and this year’s winner, Emma Mason, principal of Bathurst-based Mason Mia & Associates, has certainly lived up to that standard.

Emma works in one of the most challenging areas of the profession as an Independent Children’s Lawyer. Her day-to-day work involves representing the best interests of children who are impacted by immensely difficult and complex family law proceedings.

After the tragedy of losing her 15-year-old daughter Matilda (Tilly) to suicide in 2022 following years of online bullying, Emma campaigned successfully in Australia for social media reform. She has taken her message across the globe, speaking to world leaders on the sidelines of this year’s United Nations General Assembly.

In addition to the President’s Medal, eight awards were presented to solicitors dedicated to upholding the finest traditions of the legal profession, across diverse sectors. Here are just a couple of highlights:

Leona Bennett, of Cronulla’s Southern Waters Legal, earned the Pro Bono Service Award for her work in delivering free, trauma-informed legal advice to people who would not otherwise have representation, through her fortnightly Family Co Legal Clinic. Leona coordinates a team of more than 30 solicitors across Sydney who participate in this essential work.

On the policy front, Georgiena Ryan, who is the Chair of our Rural Issues Committee, was honoured as Committee Member of the Year for her voluminous volunteer work, including on the AML/CTF Reference Group, ensuring the interests of rural, regional and remote (RRR) solicitors were represented to government. She was also a member of the Law Society’s Climate Change Working Group, which this year updated the Law Society’s landmark Climate Change Practitioner Guidance: Advising on Client Risk, along with her participation in other important projects that have been crucial to the interest of RRR practitioners.

You can read the full list of winners here. I’ve discussed at length my commitment to honouring the service of solicitors as my first President’s Priority this year, in the last 2025 edition of the Law Society Journal which will be hitting members’ desks or mailboxes from today.

Your new Junior Vice-President
I offer my warmest congratulations to Sylvia Fernandez who was elected as the Law Society’s new Junior Vice-President for 2026 at last week’s meeting of the Law Society Council. Sylvia was first elected to Council in 2021 and served for more than two decades on the Litigation Law & Practice Committee, along with service on the Professional Conduct, and Audit Risk and Finance Committees. She is a partner at Thomson Geer with expertise in dispute resolution and litigation, regulatory investigations and inquiries.

Our present Junior Vice-President, Jacqueline Dawson, was elected as 2026 Senior Vice-President of the Law Society. Both she and Sylvia will commence in their new positions on 1 January, when Ronan MacSweeney will become President.

I’m looking forward to the Law Society’s newly constituted Executive Committee continuing its vital work for the profession in my role as Immediate Past President.

Jennifer Ball, President, The Law Society of NSW