NEARLY seventy law graduates from the Hunter will on Friday become the state's newest lawyers when they are admitted to the NSW Supreme Court's roll of practitioners.
The admissions ceremony for new practitioners will be held at the University of Newcastle's conservatorium concert hall before NSW Law Society President Brett McGrath welcomes the admittees at a celebration dinner.
"The paths available to these early career lawyers are diverse and challenging," Mr McGrath said. "As they take the first steps in their professional lives, they do so in the knowledge that the law is a calling which requires adherence to the highest ethical standards. "This reflects the real role of lawyers in the community, rather than the often unflattering portrayals seen in fiction or television courtroom dramas."
The admission of a lawyer to the court enables them to apply to the Law Society of NSW for a practising certificate, the official document which entitles them to practise law.
"The early career lawyers admitted today hold the future of the profession in their hands," Mr McGrath said. "They can be drivers of change in a profession that's constantly evolving, and agents of social good as they find ways to avail the broader community of their talents as their careers progress. The legal profession's long held tradition of service to the community is manifested in many ways, whether through leadership roles in charities, representing the profession in bodies like the law society, or the thousands of hours of pro-bono work that goes unrecognised each year."
Mr McGrath and President of the Newcastle Law Society Gary Fox will on Friday night host many of those new lawyers at a new admittees dinner, where they will hear a speech from the Chief Justice of NSW Andrew Bell.
