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Where am I now? Lawlink > Supreme Court > Speeches > Admission of Legal Practitioners
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Admission of Legal Practitioners
SPIGELMAN CJ
SHELLER JA
SIMPSON J
ADMISSION OF LEGAL PRACTITIONERS
SPIGELMAN CJ: The formal part of these proceeding is now complete, but before the Court adjourns I should like to offer a few words of congratulations and of welcome to the newly admitted legal practitioners of this Court.
The first thing I wish to say to you is that you are each individually welcome. You have all arrived here after a long and successful course of study and, in many cases, a lengthy period of practical training. You are entitled to be proud of your achievement, and your family and friends are entitled to be proud of your achievement.
Present with me on the Bench this morning are Mr Justice Sheller to my right, and Justice Simpson to my left. Together we constitute the Court that has, in the due exercise of its jurisdiction, admitted you to practice.
The ceremony in which you have participated is an old one. The first such ceremony occurred on 17 May 1824 within a few hundred yards of where we sit now in the Georgian School located on what is now the site of the David Jones women's store. Since that time this ceremony has been going on in this immediate vicinity for over 176 years. That is a very old tradition that you have just joined.
We Australians like to think of this as a young country. Indeed, the second line of your National Anthem is that “We are young and free”. But when it comes to basic mechanisms of governance - the rule of law and Parliamentary democracy - this is an old country. The number of nations that have courts as old as the Supreme Court of New South Wales can be counted on the fingers of one hand. The tradition you have joined is an old one and in all that period has been a profession. That is the first matter about which I wish to add some observations this morning.
Legal practitioners have professional obligations to their client, and also obligations to this Court. Those obligations are what distinguish a profession from a business or a job. There is no doubt that many aspects of the law constitute a business, but it is not only a business or a job. One of the most important aspects of the legal system, and one of the bases of its success over the centuries, is that it depends upon the performance of professional obligations by professional people.
In a period of this nation's history, when more and more things are judged merely by economic standards, it is important that some spheres of conduct affirm that there are values in life: the values of justice, truth and fairness are central to the activities of the legal system. That is why that system cannot be assessed only by economic criteria.
Amongst the obligations you have acquired to this Court are: a duty of full disclosure of the relevant law; a duty of candour not to mislead the Court as to any of the facts, or to knowingly permit your client to do so; a duty to refuse to permit the commencement or continuance of any baseless proceeding; a duty to exercise care before making any allegation of any misconduct against any person; a duty not to assist any form of improper conduct; a duty to conduct any proceedings before this Court efficiently and expeditiously.
The performance of some of these duties may, on occasions, conflict with your client's interests or, indeed, his or her enthusiasms. Nevertheless, they are obligations of a professional character that you owe to the Court.
The second matter to which I wish to refer is the criticism that is often made of the law in its practical operation throughout the society, to the effect that it operates unevenly and perhaps unfairly to some sections of that society. As a general rule people who are popular or powerful, or who enjoy the support of the majority, either do not need or do not have any difficulty in securing the protection of the law. The people who need that protection are the weak, the friendless, the people who are accused of crime or other disgraceful conduct, people who can appeal only to the law to protect and vindicate their rights.
There is in certain sections of the community at the moment a great deal of impatience with the law's insistence upon upholding the rights of unpopular people. History shows that you cannot be selective about granting or upholding rights which people have. In many cases the assertion of a non-popular individual of a legal right will offend a majority in the community. But it is basic to our society's values that, where necessary, the law will insist upon respect for that individual's rights. That is why justice is administered by independent, unelected Judges who do not need to be constantly seeking popularity, or the approval of Governments.
Lawyers, who are part of this system, must be prepared to stand up for individuals and minorities, even at the risk of incurring the resentment and anger of the majority.
The performance of obligations to the Court, the maintenance of professional ethical obligations, and the protection of the rights of the unpopular, does not involve an easy path. As each of you face the challenges and tribulations of dealing with clients and superiors, you should remember the support you can always receive from the broader professional community which you join today.
For many of you this is an important family occasion. Those of you who have recently concluded a long course of study will be celebrating with family and friends your success. Many of you, no doubt, owe a great deal to the support that you have received over the period of your study and training from your relatives and friends. It is always a source of great pleasure to the Judges of this Court to see so many relatives and friends in the court room participating in this important ceremony.
I hope that this is a happy and memorable occasion for you all. On behalf of the Judges of this Court, I congratulate you on your admission and wish you warm welcome to the legal profession of this State.
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