Admission to the Legal Profession and the Appointment of Public Notaries

The rolls of legal practitioners and public notaries are maintained by the Legal Practitioners Admission Board, a statutory corporation established by the Legal Profession Act 1987. The Board’s responsibilities derive from provisions of the Legal Profession Act and the Public Notaries Act 1997 and from the Board’s close relationship to the Supreme Court. Under provisions of the Legal Profession Act, the Board certifies whether applicants for admission as legal practitioners are suitable and of good fame and character. The Board also conducts examinations for persons seeking to be awarded a Diploma in Law, assesses the qualifications of overseas applicants for admission and accredits academic and practical training courses offered by NSW tertiary institutions. Under provisions of the Public Notaries Act the Board certifies whether applicants for appointment as public notaries are suitable for appointment and maintains the Roll of Public Notaries. The Board’s officers also assist the Supreme Court in the administration of ceremonies for admission of legal practitioners.


LEGAL PRACTITIONERS ADMISSION BOARD

In February 2002 the Board completed its review of two recent innovations in practical legal training: electronic tuition and the development of practical training courses conducted in association with major law firms. On the basis of extensive research and a report by Mr Frank Riley, the Board concluded that both the electronic courses and the law firm related courses were being properly delivered and were capable of delivering an adequate course of Practical Legal Training.

The Board decided in 2002 to devote increased attention and increased resources to its examinations and Students-at-Law by the creation of a new committee, the Examinations Committee, and the appointment of a Legal Education Specialist. The requisite amendments were made to the Legal Practitioners Admission Rules in May and the new Committee commenced its work in July.

As in recent years the Board assisted the Court to conduct admission ceremonies in Newcastle (in February) as well as in Sydney. The Chief Justice presided over these ceremonies. The Board has also made some improvements to the arrangements for newly admitted practitioners signing the Roll of Legal Practitioners on the ground floor of the Law Courts Building in Sydney, which ensure family and friends have an opportunity to photograph the event.

In 2002 there were 1748 persons admitted by the Court as legal practitioners. This was a record, exceeding the 1483 admitted in 2001, 1144 admitted in 2000 and the 1440 admitted in 1999. In addition 317 interstate and New Zealand practitioners were enrolled under Mutual Recognition Acts, compared with 470 in 2001 and 450 in 2000. Admissions under Mutual Recognition legislation are managed through the Supreme Court rather than the Board.

The Court appointed 34 public notaries whose applications had been approved by the Board in 2002, compared with 27 for each of the years 2001 and 2000. The decade-long trend of decreasing numbers registering to take the Board’s examinations, which coincided with the creation of a number of university law faculties, has ceased. In 2002, 862 new Students-at-Law were registered, compared with 594 in 2001 and 576 in 2000. The Board’s course of examinations remains financially viable and, in co-operation with the University of Sydney Law Extension Committee, provides tertiary-level legal education at a much lower cost than is available elsewhere.

During 2002, the members of the Legal Practitioners Admission Board were:

The Honourable the Chief Justice
The Honourable Mr Justice Windeyer AM RFD ED (Presiding Member)
The Honourable Mr Justice Sully (Deputy Presiding Member)
The Honourable Mr Justice Studdert
Professor D Barker
Mr C Cawley
Mr J Feneley
Mr J Gormly SC
Professor C Sappideen (from 20 June)
Ms D Searle
Mr P Taylor SC
Professor R Woellner (until 20 June)
Executive Officer and Secretary: Mr R Wescombe.


LEGAL QUALIFICATIONS COMMITTEE

The Legal Qualifications Committee superintends the qualification of candidates for admission. The Committee meets seven times annually to deal with applications by persons seeking exemption from the requirement to undertake a practical training course and applications by overseas-qualified persons seeking exemption from the academic or practical training requirements for admission in NSW. The Committee also reports to the Legal Practitioners Admission Board on matters associated with the accreditation of academic and practical training courses in law.

The Legal Qualifications Committee, though with a reduced range of responsibilities in the second half of 2002, nevertheless had an increased volume of applications to deal with.

The Legal Qualifications Committee performs its work largely through its sub-committees and is able to review decisions of its sub-committees when requested to do so by aggrieved applicants. There has been a continuing increase in the number of applications from overseas lawyers seeking recognition of their legal qualifications. The Committee’s Academic Exemptions Sub-Committee determined 433 applications during 2002, compared with 347 in 2001 and 280 in 2000. The Practical Training Exemptions Sub-Committee, which deals with applications from local as well as overseas applicants, determined 254 applications in 2002, compared with 231 during 2001 and 211 in 2000.

During 2002, the members of the Legal Qualifications Committee were:

The Honourable Mr Justice Dunford (Chairperson)
The Honourable Justice Clifford Einstein (Deputy Chairperson until 30 June)
The Honourable Justice Barrett (Deputy Chairperson from 1 July)
The Honourable Justice Bergin (until 30 June)
The Honourable Justice Palmer (from 1 July)
Mr F Astill
Dr J Ball (until 30 June)
Mr C Cawley
Ms M Curran
Mr P Davidson (alternate for Mr Astill)
Dr G Elkington (until 30 June)
Mr J Fernon (from 29 November)
Associate Professor B Fitzgerald (until 23 April)
Mr M Fitzgerald (from 3 September)
Associate Professor A Goh
Mr R Harris (from 23 April to 30 June)
Dr P Hemphill (until 30 June)
Associate Professor A Lamb
Associate Professor G Monahan
Ms C Needham SC (until 30 June)
Ms J Oakley
Ms R Pepper (from 1 July)
Ms D Searle (until 30 June)
Dr K F Sin
Mr C Stevens QC (until 30 September)
Mr G Wiffen
Professor T Wright (until 30 June)
Executive Officer and Secretary: Mr R Wescombe.


EXAMINATIONS COMMITTEE

The Examinations Committee was formed in July 2002. It has three sub-committees. The Performance Review Sub-Committee determines applications from students seeking to avoid or overcome exclusion from the Board’s examinations. The Curriculum Sub-Committee, in consultation with Examiners and Revising Examiners, plans the curriculum and syllabi for the Board’s examinations. The Quality Sub-Committee oversees the quality of the examinations and marking.

The Examinations Committee met four times in 2002. It dealt with disciplinary and other matters arising from the Board’s examinations and re-heard the applications of students aggrieved by decisions of the Performance Review Sub-Committee and the Executive Officer.

In 2002, there were 4866 examination subject enrolments by the Board’s Students-at-Law compared with 4422 in 2001 and 4753 in 2000. Some Students-at-Law are located interstate and others overseas. Forty-eight applications to sit examinations in non-scheduled locations were approved in 2002, compared with 44 in 2001 and 47 in 2000. Twenty-two applications for special examination conditions owing to disability were approved in 2002, compared with 18 in 2001.

During 2002, the members of the Examinations Committee were:

The Honourable Justice Carolyn Simpson (Chairperson)
The Honourable Justice Campbell (Deputy Chairperson)
Mr R Anderson
Mr F Astill
Ms A Cerny
Mr M Christie (from 29 November)
Associate Professor G Monahan
Mr C Stevens QC (until 30 September)
Executive Officer and Secretary: Mr R Wescombe.