Four solicitors, bringing “almost a century of legal experience between them”, have been appointed to the bench of the Local Court in NSW.

Those appointed are Maryanne Higginson, who has served as a registrar for 27 years, most recently at Sutherland Local Court; Danielle Mansour, a former police officer, who has been a solicitor advocate at the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions since 2011; Rachael Wong, who comes from the Kingsford Legal Centre, following roles at the Aboriginal Legal Service, the ODPP, and the NSW Crime Commission; and Jennifer Wong, who has served as a solicitor advocate in the Crown Solicitor’s Office for 15 years and who has also been a councillor of the Law Society of NSW since her first election in 2017.

The news follows the appointment of Judge Michael Allen to Chief Magistrate of the Local Court, as reported by Lawyers Weekly last month, following stints as deputy chief magistrate and judge of the District Court.

Speaking about the appointments, Law Society of NSW president Brett McGrath said: “The Local Court of NSW is already a leader in striking gender parity among its magistracy. The Law Society is particularly pleased that this set of appointments comes directly from the solicitor branch of the profession.”

The appointees, he said, will bring valuable and diverse perspectives to the bench.

“The approval by the Governor of the appointments of four solicitors to judicial office at a single meeting of the executive council is rare in itself, let alone that all the appointees are women,” McGrath said.

“This morning [Monday, 15 July], I had the honour of welcoming Magistrate Maryanne Higginson to the bench. Danielle Mansour, Rachael Wong, and Jennifer Wong will be sworn in during the course of this week.”

McGrath went on to note that he, and other Law Society councillors, are looking forward to welcoming Rachael Wong, Jennifer Wong, and Danielle Mansour as new magistrates at their respective swearing-in ceremonies this week.

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“I congratulate each appointee on behalf of NSW’s 42,000 solicitors and look forward to observing their achievements in their important new role in Australia’s busiest court,” he said.

Jerome Doraisamy

Jerome Doraisamy is the editor of Lawyers Weekly. A former lawyer, he has worked at Momentum Media as a journalist on Lawyers Weekly since February 2018, and has served as editor since March 2022. He is also the host of all five shows under The Lawyers Weekly Podcast Network, and has overseen the brand's audio medium growth from 4,000 downloads per month to over 60,000 downloads per month, making The Lawyers Weekly Show the most popular industry-specific podcast in Australia. Jerome is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in NSW, and a board director of Minds Count.

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