Justice Verity McWilliam has been sworn in as the newest justice of the ACT Supreme Court. Photo: Albert McKnight.
A local Canberran who is the newest justice of the ACT Supreme Court says it was never her grand plan to be both a mother and serve the Territory in such a demanding job, remarking that often “chaos reigns”.
Verity McWilliam became the first woman to hold the title of associate judge for the court in 2017 and she has now been elevated from that position to resident judge.
“This court is going places, in terms of leading the jurisprudence and the legal conversations and I am genuinely excited to be a part of it,” she told a packed courtroom at a ceremonial sitting to mark her swearing in to the position on Tuesday (2 May).
She said judges were always looking for ways to make it easier for people to access court and she wanted all of those who appeared in front of her to feel heard and that they were being listened to.
“I think we as judges have an obligation … to explain, to educate and help others understand it [the law],” she said.
The more people understand what is going on in our courts, the better, she said.
ACT Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury said Justice McWilliam had graduated from the Australian National University in 2000, then was called to the NSW Bar in 2006 where she had an illustrious career in commercial, criminal and tort law.
She established herself as a solicitor in NSW, lectured at the Universities of NSW and Sydney, then returned to the ACT in 2017 and joined the judiciary.
Mr Rattenbury believed her promotion would be well received given her passion for untangling legal arguments and her humility.
Those at the ceremony heard that in 2021, a member of the media had written to Justice McWilliam to say her written judgement on a case was “fantastic, so well written I felt like I had a good lesson on the law”.
A senior member of the bar had also spoken about how she delivered well-reasoned judgements, while an associate called her a “natural mentor” who always found time to help junior members of the profession.
Justice McWilliam said when it came to solicitors, “I am married to one of the best”.
“They are the unsung heroes of the justice system,” she said, saying when a counsel promised a document in the middle of a court hearing then it was the solicitor who would leave to put the wheels in motion.
Then when it came to barristers, she commented how, “the work, the volume, the intellectual rigour, it’s herculean what barristers are trying to do”.
Justice McWilliam fills the vacancy left by former justice Geoffrey Kennett, who resigned from the Supreme Court to take a role as a justice in the Federal Court.
She thanked all of the “cherished people” who filled the courtroom for attending the ceremony.
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