The ACT's chief Crown prosecutor and the lawyer who represented Bruce Lehrmann during the recent parliament rape trial are the latest to be appointed senior counsel in the territory.
ACT Bar Association president Rebecca Curran, who was recently named the association's first female president, on Thursday announced the elevation of Anthony Williamson and Steven Whybrow.
Mr Williamson is the chief Crown prosecutor and deputy director of the ACT DPP after joining the organisation in 2009.
Prior, he was was a legal officer in the ACT Department of Justice and Community Safety where he held various positions in the human rights and criminal law units.
While at the DPP, he established the confiscation of criminal assets unit and is one of the prosecution's most experienced trial counsel.
His practice mainly relates to homicide, organised crime, outlaw motorcycle gangs, and sexual offences.
Mr Williamson said it was "very welcomed to be recognised by the profession and your peers for the hard work you've done".
"I have had the privilege to work with a number of my colleagues in some extremely high-profile matters," he said.
Mr Williamson was born and raised in Canberra and has been an active member of the ACT Rural Fire Service for 24 years.
He has fought in most major bushfire emergencies in south-east Australia and was previously in the remote area fire team - an elite unit that deploys the fires from the air.
He is also a qualified arson investigator.
Among the challenges is work-life balance, Mr Williamson, who has a young family, said.
"Prosecutors carry a very high volume of matters that can be confronting intellectually and emotionally," he said.
He said he had been "quite privileged" to work with Shane Drumgold SC, the director of the DPP.
His fellow senior counsel Mr Whybrow, of Key Chambers, shared similar sentiments about the appointment.
"I hoped one day I might be worthy of getting to that level. Having been recognised by your peers and the judges that you are is a little bit overwhelming," he said.
"For me, it's a nice circle. My first ever job after law school was as a prosecutor at the ACT DPP.
"I was interviewed for that job by a senior prosecutor by the name of Lucy McCallum.
"Then 32 years later, I'm appointed silk with the imprimatur of Chief Justice Lucy McCallum, so I find that as a nice journey."
Mr Whybrow - who practices criminal law, civil litigation, inquests, and inquiries - is also a reserve legal officer in the Royal Australian Air Force.
He came to the bar in 2002 after 12 years as a Crown prosecutor with the DPP.
He represented several members in the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force Afghanistan inquiry and has been deployed to the Middle East on two occasions to undertake inquiry work for Defence.
Born in Wagga Wagga, he grew up in Harden-Murrumburrah before coming to Canberra in 1983.
His legal career has him undertaking work in all Australian jurisdictions.
Mr Whybrow has spent about two decades at the bar, saying it was all about "providing a service and skills to people who can't do that themselves".
"It [senior counsel] comes with significant obligations and you need to take that seriously," he said.
"I've always taken seriously my duties to the court and my clients.
"Those duties only become more important. I hope to live up to the title."
Mr Whybrow said that besides the Lehrmann trial, the "hardest and emotionally tough" matter was the Dreamworld inquest, where he acted for a dad who lost both his children and a man who lost his wife in that tragedy.
"And probably the [2003] Canberra bushfires inquiry," he said.
His advice for those starting their careers in law is to "never think it's a good idea to take shortcuts or be tricksy".
"Because it's never a good idea and there's nothing you lose faster than your reputation as a straight dealer and an honourable lawyer," he said.
