Law Council Gala Dinner 2023 – President-Elect speech
Speech delivered by Mr Greg McIntyre SC, President-elect, Law Council of Australia at the LCA Gala Dinner, Canberra, 1 December 2023.
"Good evening. I am honoured to be with you tonight among so many distinguished guests.
I echo the acknowledgement of the Traditional Owners of this country.
It will come as no surprise that my thoughts, in recent months, have had a focus on the role which the President of this organisation plays, noting the 63 Presidents who have performed that role in the last 90 years. We are particularly privileged to have among us tonight 22 past Presidents – in order of the year of their service:
- Gerry Murphy AM,1982
- Alan Cornell, 1984
- The Honourable Darryl Williams AM KC, 1986
- David Miles AM, 1991
- The Honourable John Mansfield AM KC, 1993
- Michael Phelps, 1995
- Fabian Dixon RFD SC, 1998
- Dr Gordon Hughes AM, 1999
- Anne Trimmer AO, 2000
- Ron Heinrich AM, 2002
- The Honourable Bob Gotterson AO QC, 2003
- Judge John North, 2005
- John Corcoran AM, 2009
- Glenn Ferguson AM, 2010
- Catherine Gale, 2012
- Vice-President Jo Catanzariti AM, 2013
- Michael Colbran KC, 2013-14
- Stuart Clark AM, 2016
- Fiona McLeod AO SC, 2017
- Morry Bailes AM, 2018
- Magistrate Pauline Wright, 2020
- Tass Liveris, 2022
As has been pointed out, when you take into account our current and 63rd President Luke Murphy, that historical list is book-ended by the Murphy clan, marking a remarkable feat of family service to the legal profession.
As I have observed the manner in which Luke has performed the role of President this year, I have been hugely impressed by the level of energy and passion he has applied to the task. At times I have felt exhausted just listening to his quarterly reports of the numbers of meetings he has had both nationally and internationally with our colleagues among our constituent bodies, international law associations, The Commonwealth Courts and Commonwealth Government agencies, some of which has been detailed in his speech this evening.
Luke’s personable manner has built on the relationship the Law Council has with the Commonwealth Government, contributing to the prevalence of the Law Council’s views being enthusiastically welcomed and valued by the Attorney, his Department and numerous Parliamentary Committee and Government agency inquiries."
Read full speech below.
Last Updated on 14/02/2024