Ceremonial Sitting - Announcement of Appointment of Senior Counsel

[2019] HCATrans 5

[2019] HCATrans 005

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:   KIEFEL CJ

BELL J
GAGELER J
KEANE J
NETTLE J
GORDON J

EDELMAN J

TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS

AT CANBERRA ON MONDAY, 4 FEBRUARY 2019, AT 3.30 PM

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

Mr Michael O’Farrell SC, Solicitor‑General for the State of Tasmania

Mr Tim Game SC, President of the New South Wales Bar Association

Mr Mark Hoffmann QC, President of the South Australian Bar Association

Mr Stephen Davies SC, President of the Western Australian Bar Association

Ms Rebecca Treston QC, President of the Bar Association of Queensland

Dr Matt Collins QC, President of the Victorian Bar

Mr Peter Dunning QC, Solicitor‑General of the State of Queensland

Mr Peter Garrisson AM SC, Solicitor‑General for the Australian Capital Territory

Ms Jennifer Batrouney QC, President of the Australian Bar Association

Mr Ian Robertson SC

Mr Matt Howard SC

Mr Sandy Thompson SC

Mr Chris Gunson SC

Mr Steven Whybrow

Mr Kenneth Archer

Members of the Judiciary seated within the Court:

The Honourable Chief Justice Alstergren, Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia and Chief Judge of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia

The Honourable Justice Elkaim, Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory

KIEFEL CJ:   Mr Solicitor for Tasmania.

MR O’FARRELL:   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 State of Tasmania.

They are:

Sandra Taglieri who ranks in seniority after Christopher James Gunson

Linda Anne Mason who ranks in seniority after Sandra Taglieri

May it please the Court.

KIEFEL CJ:   Mr Game, President of the New South Wales Bar Association.

MR GAME:   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 State of New South Wales.

They are:

Lee John Carr who ranks in seniority after Neil John Adams

Paresh Navin Khandhar who ranks in seniority after Lee John Carr

Shane Eric John Prince who ranks in seniority after Paresh Navin Khandhar

Farid Assaf who ranks in seniority after Shane Eric John Prince

Edward George Harvey Cox who ranks in seniority after Farid Assaf

Dominic Francis Villa who ranks in seniority after Mark Philip Dennis

Mark Gibian who ranks in seniority after Dominic Francis Villa

Neil Robert Murray who ranks in seniority after Mark Gibian

Suzanne Michelle Christie who ranks in seniority after Neil Robert Murray

Ertunc Yasar Ozen who ranks in seniority after Suzanne Michelle Christie

Simon Jules Buchen who ranks in seniority after Ertunc Yasar Ozen

Anna Margrit Mitchelmore who ranks in seniority after Simon Jules Buchen

Vanessa Elizabeth Whittaker who ranks in seniority after Anna Margrit Mitchelmore

Michael Anthony Izzo who ranks in seniority after Vanessa Elizabeth Whittaker

David Frederick Callum Thomas who ranks in seniority after Kristen Jane Deards

May it please the Court.

KIEFEL CJ:   Mr Hoffmann, President of the South Australian Bar Association.

MR HOFFMANN:   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 South Australia.

They are:

Alan John Lindsay who ranks in seniority after Michael Robert Burnett

Domenico Petraccaro who ranks in seniority after Alan John Lindsay

Rachael Frances Gray who ranks in seniority after Domenico Petraccaro

Heath David Barklay who ranks in seniority after Rachael Frances Gray

May it please the Court.

KIEFEL CJ:   Mr Davies, President of the Western Australian Bar Association.

MR DAVIES:   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:

John Robert Broderick Ley who ranks in seniority after Simon Dieter Freitag

Carolyn Janet Thatcher who ranks in seniority after Steven Penglis

Gary David Cobby who ranks in seniority after Carolyn Janet Thatcher

Alain Jonathan Musikanth who ranks in seniority after Gary David Cobby

Michael James Feutrill who ranks in seniority after Alain Jonathan Musikanth

Mara Rita Barone who ranks in seniority after Michael James Feutrill

May it please the Court.

KIEFEL CJ:   Ms Treston, President of the Queensland Bar Association.

MS TRESTON:   May it please the Court, I inform the Court that the following members of the Bar here present have been appointed as Queen’s Counsel in the State of Queensland.

They are:

Scott Andrew McLeod who ranks in seniority after Michael Robert Hodge

Damien Leigh Kerr Atkinson who ranks in seniority after Scott Andrew McLeod

Nicholas Harry Ferrett who ranks in seniority after Mark Douglas Ambrose

Patrick Thomas Cullinane who ranks in seniority after Nicholas Harry Ferrett

Nicholas Andreatidis who ranks in seniority after Patrick Thomas Cullinane

Sydney John Williams who ranks in seniority after Nicholas Andreatidis

Patrick James McCafferty who ranks in seniority after Sydney John Williams

Lincoln Kingsley Crowley who ranks in seniority after Patrick James McCafferty

May it please the Court.

KIEFEL CJ:   Dr Collins, President of the Victorian Bar Association.

MR COLLINS:   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 State of Victoria.

They are:

Raymond Leslie Gibson who ranks in seniority after Lisa Gianna De Ferrari

Andrew Donald Beardsworth Ingram who ranks in seniority after Raymond Leslie Gibson

William Ewe Min Lye who ranks in seniority after Andrew Donald Beardsworth Ingram

Frank Damien O’Loughlin who ranks in seniority after William Ewe Min Lye

Peter Clive Rozen who ranks in seniority after Frank Damien O’Loughlin

Andrew James Palmer who ranks in seniority after Peter Clive Rozen

David Joseph McAndrew who ranks in seniority after Andrew James Palmer

Colin Gray Mandy who ranks in seniority after David Joseph McAndrew

Richard Patrick Paul Dalton who ranks in seniority after Colin Gray Mandy

Elizabeth Mary Brimer who ranks in seniority after Richard Patrick Paul Dalton

Patrick Justin Hannebery who ranks in seniority after Elizabeth Mary Brimer

Tomo Rachid Owerri Boston who ranks in seniority after Patrick Justin Hannebery

Jenny Margaret Firkin who ranks in seniority after Tomo Rachid Owerri Boston

Diana Inara Piekusis who ranks in seniority after Jenny Margaret Firkin

Christopher Morrison Archibald who ranks in seniority after Diana Inara Piekusis

Fiona Katharine Forsyth who ranks in seniority after Andrew Hanak

Anthony Thomas Strahan who ranks in seniority after Fiona Katharine Forsyth

Cam Huy Truong who ranks in seniority after Anthony Thomas Strahan

Catherine Gail Button who ranks in seniority after Cam Huy Truong

Frances Louise Dalziel who ranks in seniority after Catherine Gail Button

Michael David Rush who ranks in seniority after Frances Louise Dalziel

Juliet Elizabeth Forsyth who ranks in seniority after Michael David Rush

Scott Andrew Smith who ranks in seniority after Juliet Elizabeth Forsyth

Eugene Francis Wheelahan who ranks in seniority after Scott Andrew Smith

May it please the Court.

KIEFEL CJ:   Does any member of the Bar move a motion?

Present in Court today is the Chief Justice of the Family Court and Chief Judge of the Federal Circuit Court, the Honourable William Alstergren, Justice Elkaim of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory, the Solicitors‑General for Tasmania, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory, the President of the Australian Bar Association, the President of the New South Wales Bar Association, the Presidents of the South Australian Bar Association, the Bar Association of Queensland, the Western Australian Bar Association and the President of the Victorian Bar.

On behalf of the Court I congratulate the new silks.  It is fitting that on your appointment as Senior Counsel for your State or Territory that you make this journey to this Court and have your appointment as Senior Counsel announced to the Court.  Your attendance, and that of your Bar Association, acknowledges the relationship between the courts and the Bar and the position of this Court at the apex of our judicial system.  The strong relationship between the courts and the Bar and the rule that a barrister’s first duty is to the court has long been an important feature of our legal system.  It would not be possible for the courts to discharge their work if they were not able to rely upon counsel to conduct litigation efficiently and in accordance with the high standards of conduct and ethics which may be expected of members of the profession of barristers.

The Court extends a welcome to your families.  Your journey to the pinnacle of your profession was not taken alone and it has taken many years.  Your appointment is not likely to have been possible without the considerable support and encouragement, and perhaps some long suffering, on the part of your families for whom this is, no doubt, an especially happy occasion.

Your appointment as Senior Counsel is a recognition of your legal knowledge, your skill, your ability as an advocate and that you have displayed the qualities which mark you out as leaders of the Bar.  A person is not appointed as Senior Counsel in recognition of her or his long service as a barrister.  An appointment is justified only where it is obvious that the person’s ability as a lawyer and advocate is outstanding.  This is usually evident from the nature and extent of a person’s practice which will involve complex and difficult work, and from the fact that the person has routinely led more junior barristers in the conduct of litigation. 

The years at the Bar which now lie ahead of you as Senior Counsel will be the most interesting and challenging of your professional life. 

You are now the first amongst equals in the rank of Senior Counsel which you now join.  There can be no ranks within that of Senior Counsel.  You can never truly be led again.  This should be borne in mind when working with other silks in cases which warrant more than one silk.  Your position of leadership within the Bar, which involves a concern for the junior Bar, should serve to remind you to question whether a case truly warrants two silks or whether a junior barrister could fulfil the role that you have been asked to take.

Being Senior Counsel is not just about acquiring a higher status within the profession.  With the new status you have attained come responsibilities and they will require you to think beyond yourself and your own interests.  More will be expected of you by the courts, by the profession and by your Bar Associations. 

The courts expect every barrister to uphold the professional and ethical standards of the profession, but they expect Senior Counsel to be exemplars of such conduct.

From time to time in this Court we are told that a barrister feels obliged to put their client’s moral or political viewpoint forward in argument.  Such a statement reflects a misunderstanding of the role of counsel, which is to put legal argument to the court.  Senior Counsel especially should be under no misapprehension and should have a clear understanding of what instructions from solicitors or clients should and should not be acted upon. 

The junior Bar will look to you for guidance.  They will look to you for example.  You must be conscious of this at all times and conduct yourself with the dignity and civility that your position demands. 

Your leadership role should involve you even more closely with your Bar Associations.  The Associations will expect you to participate more fully in the affairs of the Bar, to assist when important issues arise and to share concerns about the future of the profession. 

Before the rank of King’s Counsel was established the leaders of the Bar were Serjeants‑at‑Law.  The professional and ethical standards which they imposed on themselves were high.  Their rules of conduct required them to deal with matters in court expeditiously, and not to prolong them for personal gain.  They were obliged to dissuade clients from pursuing unjust causes and to advise them to abandon claims if they appeared to be in the wrong.  These standards no doubt reflected the religious and moral philosophies of their times, but the essential principles have survived as part of the standards which govern practice at the Bar. 

The Serjeants passed from history.  Their demise should remind us that circumstances can change and that elite groups do not always survive.  They will not survive unless they are able to maintain that which sets them apart from other providers of services.  For a barrister it is that she or he is a member of a profession and not a business enterprise.  And the hallmarks of that profession are integrity and independence. 

It is to you, Senior Counsel, that the junior Bar will look and learn.  This is how the profession may continue.  Your appointments are made for the benefit of the profession as well as in recognition of your abilities.  Those who appointed you evidently have confidence, not only in your abilities as lawyers and advocates, but also that you can fulfil the obligations of the rank of Senior Counsel which you have now joined.

The Court thanks you for the courtesy you have shown in informing it of your appointments and wishes you and your families well for the future.

The Court will now adjourn until 10.00 am tomorrow, 5 February 2019.

AT 3.42 PM THE COURT ADJOURNED