South Australian Legal New Year

The Hon. J.E. HANSON (14:57): My question is to the Attorney-General. Will the Attorney-General inform the council about the launch of the 2025 South Australian Legal New Year?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector, Special Minister of State) (14:57): I thank the honourable member for his question. I was once again privileged to attend the first major event for the year put on by the Law Society and the Bar Association a couple of weeks ago in Adelaide. It is an opportunity for legal professionals to gather and celebrate—although a month and a half after the actual new year—the start of the new year.

Although lawyers are often thought of as a homogenous body, events like these allow those across private and public, not-for-profit, in-house practitioners, solicitors and members of the bar to come together. I joined the current President of the Law Society, Ms Marissa Mackie, and freshly appointed President of the SA Bar Association, Ms Jane Abbey KC, speaking to attendees. Ms Mackie made sure to highlight what was coming up this year, and it was noted that both the Law Society and the Bar Association were headed by women in South Australia.

The New Year event followed another successful Law Society forum, two days of legal education and continuing professional development sessions presented and chaired by over 60 practitioners and judges from South Australia as well as people from interstate. I understand this year's forum had a record number of about 900 attendees, both in person and online.

Pleasingly, there were several attendee scholarship awards to exceptional students and graduates from each of the three law schools in South Australia. I congratulate Sian Davies and Reece Parker from the University of South Australia, Leah Schlein and Caden Yau from the University of Adelaide, Samuel Sarris from Flinders University and Nick Arundel from the Aboriginal Law Student Mentoring Program for being recognised by their educators and the profession in receiving scholarships.