Ceremonial - Appointment of Senior Counsel

[2010] HCATrans 1

[2010] HCATrans 001

H I G H   C O U R T   O F   A U S T R A L I A

CEREMONIAL SITTING

ON THE OCCASION

OF

THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF APPOINTMENT

OF

SENIOR COUNSEL

Coram:          FRENCH CJ

GUMMOW J
HAYNE J
HEYDON J
KIEFEL J

TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS

AT CANBERRA ON MONDAY, 1 FEBRUARY 2010, AT 3.31 PM

The following Queen’s Counsel, Senior Counsel and counsel were seated at the Bar table:

Mr D.F. Jackson AM QC

Mr T. Bathurst QC, President of the Australian Bar Association

Ms A. Katzmann SC, Immediate Past‑President of the New South Wales Bar Association

Mr P. Greenwood SC

Mr M. Colbran QC, Chairman of the Victorian Bar Council

Mr M. Stewart SC, Immediate Past‑President of the Bar Association of Queensland

Mr M. Blue QC, President of the South Australian Bar Association

Mr P. Riordan SC

Ms R. Webb QC, President of the Northern Territory Bar Association

Mr G. Donaldson SC, President of the Western Australian Bar Association

Mr S. Pilkinton, President of the Australian Capital Territory Bar Association

Mr C. Carruthers QC, President of the New Zealand Bar Council

FRENCH CJ:   Ms Katzmann.

MS KATZMANN:   May it please the Court, I inform the Court that the following members of the Bar here present have been appointed as Senior Counsel for the State of New South Wales.

They are:

Janet Susan Manuell who appears in the Bar list next after Stephen Bruce Lloyd

Robert Stewart Sheldon who appears in the Bar list next after Janet Susan Manuell

Michael Christie who appears in the Bar list next after Robert Stewart Sheldon

Ian Edward Davidson who appears in the Bar list next after Michael Christie

Michael Kingsley Meek who appears in the Bar list next after Ian Edward Davidson

Simon Andrew Kerr who appears in the Bar list next after Michael Kingsley Meek

Judith Anne Rees who appears in the Bar list next after Simon Andrew Kerr

David James Hooke who appears in the Bar list next after Judith Anne Rees

Shereef Habib who appears in the Bar list next after David James Hooke

Robert James Bromwich who appears in the Bar list next after Shereef Habib

James Robert John Lockhart who appears in the Bar list next after Robert James Bromwich

David John Lloyd who appears in the Bar list next after James Robert John Lockhart

Robert Andrew Dick who appears in the Bar list next after David John Lloyd

Laura Kathleen Wells who appears in the Bar list next after Robert Andrew Dick

Peter John Brereton who appears in the Bar list next after Laura Kathleen Wells

Richard Paul Llewellyn Lancaster who appears in the Bar list next after Peter John Brereton

Mark Richmond who appears in the Bar list next after Richard Paul Llewellyn Lancaster

Dina Yehia who appears in the Bar list next after Mark Richmond

FRENCH CJ:   Ms Webb.

MS WEBB:   May it please the Court, I inform the Court that the following members of the Bar here present have been appointed as Senior Counsel in the Northern Territory.

They are:

Alistair Wyvill who ranks in seniority after Judith Clair Kelly

Dr Nanette Rogers who ranks in seniority after Alistair Wyvill

FRENCH CJ:   Mr Blue.

MR BLUE:   May it please the Court, I inform the Court that the following member of the Bar here present has been appointed as Senior Counsel for the State of South Australia.

He is:

Martin Andrew Frayne who ranks in seniority after Michael James Roder

FRENCH CJ:   Mr Stewart.

MR STEWART:   May it please the Court, I inform the Court that the following members of the Bar here present have been appointed as Senior Counsel for the State of Queensland.

They are:

Glen Raymond Rice who ranks in seniority after Thomas Philip Sullivan

Alexander Adrian James Horneman‑Wren who ranks in seniority after Michael Roderick Byrne

FRENCH CJ:   Mr Colbran.

MR COLBRAN:   May it please the Court, I inform the Court that the following members of the Bar here present have been appointed as Senior Counsel for the State of Victoria.

They are:

David Leslie Brustman who ranks in seniority after Christopher John Townshend

Kirsty Marion Macmillan who ranks in seniority after David Leslie Brustman

Michael Damien Wilson who ranks in seniority after Francis James Tiernan

Nicholas Papas who ranks in seniority after Michael Damien Wilson

Andrew James Tinney who ranks in seniority after Nicholas Papas

Mary Anne Hartley who ranks in seniority after Andrew James Tinney

Michael Damian Wyles who ranks in seniority after Mary Anne Hartley

Andrew John Keogh who ranks in seniority after Michael Damian Wyles

Philip David Crutchfield who ranks in seniority after Andrew John Keogh

Simon Harry Steward who ranks in seniority after Philip David Crutchfield

Rachel Marie Doyle who ranks in seniority after Peter James Morrisey

FRENCH CJ:   Mr Donaldson.

MR DONALDSON:   May it please the Court, I inform the Court that the following members of the Bar here present have been appointed as Senior Counsel for the State of Western Australia.

They are:

Patricia Elaine Cahill who ranks in seniority after Simon Rutherford Moncrieff

Matthew Daunton Howard who ranks in seniority after Patricia Elaine Cahill

Stephen Michael Davies who ranks in seniority after Anthony Samuel Derrick

May it please the Court.

FRENCH CJ:   Mr Jackson, do you move?  Mr Bathurst, do you move?  Ms Katzmann, do you move?  Mr Greenwood, do you move?  Mr Colbran, do you move?  Mr Stewart, do you move?  Mr Blue, do you move?  Mr Riordan, do you move?  Ms Webb, do you move?  Mr Donaldson, do you move?  Mr Pilkinton, do you move?

On behalf of the members of the Court, I congratulate the newly appointed Senior Counsel.  The office of Senior Counsel and that of Queen’s Counsel, which was its predecessor, seeks to uphold and advance fundamental values of the Bar.  These values are reflected in selection criteria adopted for Senior Counsel around Australia.  They are values of professional excellence, integrity and independence.  Men and women who bear those attributes have much to offer Australia, the rule of law and the legal profession.  They are attributes which are enhanced by those who possess a broad perspective on their place in society.  One aspect of a broad perspective which will support the acceptance and continuance of the office of Senior Counsel is a commitment to the value of public service which transcends self‑interest.  Such a commitment engages with the spirit of voluntarism which Australians value highly.  Another aspect of a broad perspective is evidenced by your presence here today at the seat of the High Court in the national capital.  You see yourselves as members of a national profession, willing and able to provide high quality legal services and to contribute to the administration of justice and the rule of law throughout the Commonwealth. 

Your new office has its roots deep in the history of our law and the English law which is part of our legal and cultural heritage.  That history may be traced back to the informal appointment of persons as King’s Counsel in the thirteenth century to assist King’s attorneys and King’s solicitors to cope with their workload.  The evolution of the office received something of an impetus in 1604 when Francis Bacon procured his own appointment as King’s Counsel extraordinaire on the warrant of James I.  His patent recited that the King had appointed him “our Councillor at Law or one of our Counsel Learned in Law”.  The practice of appointing King’s and Queen’s Counsel by Letters Patent from the Crown developed from that precedent. 

It is salutary to observe the displacement by the office of Queen’s Counsel of the venerable institution of Serjeants‑at‑Law who were the senior officeholders of the profession for hundreds of years.  That displacement reminds us that no human institution has a right to immortality or immunity from change.  It is useful to you to be conscious of the history of the office which you assume and the values which sustain it today, and to ensure that those values and the way in which they serve the public interest are maintained and publicly affirmed.  In that respect I express the hope that some of you at least will find time to contribute in various ways to public understanding and appreciation of the importance of our legal system, the things that make it work well, and the commitment of its members to improving its operation and accessibility.

I thank you for your attendance and on behalf of the members of the Court again congratulate you upon your appointments and wish you well in your new and demanding role.

The Court will now adjourn.

AT 3.43 PM THE COURT ADJOURNED