Diversity on the bench and in the legal profession

For Judge Jacquie Trad, Judge of the Local Court in Broken Hill, the profile of the profession has evolved throughout her career. She recalls that in the late 1980s to the early 1990s, the profile of the bench was very different. “[There were] some women on the bench in all the jurisdictions but it certainly didn’t reflect society, but that seemed to also be reflected in the legal profession as well.

“Women traditionally had more different focuses and that (I think) was due to expectation rather than choice for many people and it was also a situation whereby the opportunities … weren’t necessarily offered to women. So that has changed a lot. …,” she says.

For Trad, her career trajectory into law was somewhat unconventional. After finishing school, she commenced her career in the public service. “I started a bit different because I didn’t go to university straight after school. That wasn’t available to me,” she recalls.

Trad acknowledges she was fortunate to have landed a good job and was drawn to areas like social welfare. “I started working in what was then called Family and Community Services … now [part of the] broader DCJ but it’s the care and protection jurisdiction,” she says.

In the public service, Trad moved around and worked in different areas including complaint handling and investigations, but she always had an interest in the law. “So, I then enrolled as a mature aged student and worked and then studied part time. …

“I [came] into it with a bit of experience in other areas and I was lucky enough to get a job, while I was finishing off my degree, in Local Courts,” she says.

After completing her degree, Trad worked for the Attorney General and gained exposure to Parliament and parliamentary processes. She believes that throwing herself into opportunities as they arose helped her career and eventually led to her appointment to the Bench.

Trad is passionate about diversity in law and says representation in the legal profession is important as it reflects the community that practitioners serve. “I look very proudly on the bench and indeed those who appear before me to see, basically, the community reflected in those roles.

“If the community can see itself in these institutions and those professions, I believe it does foster greater confidence in those institutions and professions. You see people who you think can understand your experience and I think that’s really important,” she says.

Reflecting on the makeup of the bench, Trad says that diversity broadens the talent pool and having judicial officers from a diverse range of backgrounds will instil or encourage community confidence in the legal system. She points out that judges from a particular background with certain mindsets are well-respected because they are knowledgeable and talented, but the broader community may find it harder to identify with them and their experiences.

“[I] think that is an important part in dispensing justice in the community. That people can see … they can be heard and understood, and they can then look at what the decision is that affects them with a perhaps better understanding of where it’s coming from,” she says.

Trad did a lot of country relieving when she was still based in the metropolitan area. “I used to think of it as my self-care … I would try to take a trip out to the country and the further I could go, the better,” she says.

She tells the LSJ Online that she really enjoyed travelling to different regions and she loved visiting areas like the Riverina and the Griffith region, as well as Moree, Coonamble and the Central West.

Trad explains that she first got the opportunity to visit Broken Hill a decade ago and she fell in love with the region due to its people. Trad says she covers the “border country” in far west New South Wales, and she admires the people for their resilience. She acknowledges they have a lot to contend with. “They don’t have the services that are taken for granted in … the metropolitan area but [also] what you [would] call regional centres. …

“[W]e have people coming out for short periods of time, and if you don’t work in the mines or in a … adjunct profession, it can be difficult to find a place. … [Y]ou’ve got families here who have lived here for [generations], and they have a commitment to this place and so it always fascinated me why people would … stay so far away from everything … until I started to relieve here …”

Trad says she loves living in Broken Hill and describes it as a “life changing” experience. She is actively involved in the community and is well-known. “I don’t hide away. I get out there amongst everyone, people know who I am, I work, I do some volunteer work in the community [and] I volunteer with WIRES,” she says.

For Trad, her connection to the community is important and she believes that you can have a greater and better experience living in the country when you embrace the lifestyle and make it your “home.”

She adds, “the community knows that you’re committed to being there and so decisions that I make affect me as much as it affects them and they also know that the decisions I make come from a love of the community that I live in. …

“[T]hat has a big impact on your acceptance and the effectiveness that you can have as a judge in a remote area and who really, people need to be confident in…”.

Trad acknowledges that while there are experienced practitioners in Broken Hill who are well-established in the community, she says there is a need for more solicitors in the area. She explains that most practitioners are from services like the Aboriginal Legal Service, Legal Aid and other community legal services, and are predominantly early career solicitors. “[S]ome of them have very little experience when they come to Broken Hill … and they will stay for varying periods of time, but they get experience and they tend to leave.

“I find that’s a shame because I think coming to something like Broken Hill as a young solicitor, you learn so much … so quickly, and you get to do things that you never get to do … for 10 years in the metropolitan area because no one would let you do it.”

Trad points out that working in the regions is an “amazing experience” for early career solicitors and encourages legal practitioners who go out to Broken Hill to not be afraid about failing. “[I] make it a point to try to encourage and support, within the parameters of what I can do, their experience in the courtroom … particularly young women.”

She says she young women come often come to Broken Hill as their first job as a solicitor. They are often thrust into the work, so she makes a point of ensuring that they feel supported.

“[I]’d love to see them stay longer because I think there’s so much we have to offer as a community in the country generally. …  [C]ountry service, whether it’s as a practitioner or as a judicial officer, offers so much to enrich you and allows you to have a fantastic work/life balance,” she says.

As for diversity on the bench, Trad says female judicial officers complement their male counterparts and can often provide a different approach. She points out that differences in approach should be celebrated because it makes the bench “more responsive.”

In March this year, it was announced that Magistrates will have their titles changed to Judges to reflect the important work done in the Local Court. Trad admits she was surprised that people are aware of the change. “I went on leave as a Magistrate [and] I came back as a Judge. I was walking along the street and a person who I know said to me ‘hello Judge.’ …

“I think it’s great recognition for the work we do to be honest. … I think it reflects what we do. We are a judicial officer, and we perform a judicial role, and we should be called judges, and I think it’s a matter of respect,” she says.

The Law Society of New South Wales launched ‘Careers in the Country’ in 2025. It’s an initiative to support legal professionals in rural, regional and remote areas. For more information, please visit the website.

Header image: Judge Jacquie Trad (supplied)