By Wendy Yang -
Almost 200 people packed into the Metro Theatre last night as three talented finalists went head-to-head to take home the top prize and Golden Gavel glory.
A beloved annual tradition, the 2026 Golden Gavel returned for another year of laughs with a new time and new venue which was well received by the attendees.
Comedian and Master of Ceremonies for the night, Nathan Chin, returned for the second year to warm up the crowd with his humorous (and occasionally saucy) set. He joked about how disappointed his parents would be if they knew he was doing comedy and joked “if they walked in, I’d start doing karaoke.”
Alana Rafter, Senior Associate at Australian Business Lawyers and Advisors, kicked off the night with her take on ‘A reasonable person would … Identifying and locating the most frequently referenced person in legal history.’ “I’m up first and none of you look nearly drunk enough for this event,” she joked.
Rafter encouraged the audience to say hello to the contestants afterwards so it can at least count as “BD (Business Development)”.
She explained how solicitors are prepared for the artificial intelligence (AI) takeover as legal practitioners practically speak the same language as AI anyway. When it comes to instructions, “we essentially draft prompts and seek a ‘yes’ from clients, that’s how we’re able to produce all those emails, submissions, witness statements,” she says.
Llewellyn Horgan, Information and Privacy Lawyer, at Sparke Helmore Lawyers was up next with his take on communication in the workplace with his topic “Regards, Kind regards and other weapons of mass destruction: a practical guide to passive aggressive communication in a modern legal workplace.”
As solicitors, we are constantly reminded of our duties when it comes to courteous communication, Horgan helpfully decoded the more commonly used “passive aggressive work communication” phrases from “as per my last email” to “just circling back to this,” to “I hope this email finds you well.” For those junior solicitors wondering how long it will take to become a “true master of passive aggression,” Horgan assured them they can start almost immediately. “I would encourage you to do the following: 1) tactical typos, misspell someone’s name in your email to them, have fun with it. Jerk instead of Jack, Silly instead of Sally.
“For someone with a complicated and maybe somewhat unusual name like Llewellyn, just drop a few letters when you respond to them. It will drive them crazy after a while. Trust me, I would know,” he said.
When it comes to passive aggressive communication, Horgan encouraged the audience to be themselves, “push the envelope of what passive aggressive messages can be” and make it their own.
2024 finalist Chanchal Kaur, now a solicitor at Gilchrist Connell, returned to the Golden Gavel stage with her take on fashion with her topic “The Devil wears Witchery: fashion do’s and don’ts for the modern graduate.”
A former pageant contestant, Kaur shared her take on fashion brands and why certain brands remind her of law firms in the 1980s. She pointed out the real indicator of status in law firms is the shoes that people wear. “You know you’ve made it in law when instead of a stylist, a podiatrist is picking out your footwear,” she joked.
2026 President of the NSW Young Lawyers, Robert Breckenridge, 2026 President of the Law Society of NSW Ronan MacSweeney and Chantal Tipene, Partner at Sparke Helmore lawyers, were judges at the event.
After much deliberation by the judges and the audience, Horgan was crowned the winner of the NSW Golden Gavel and took home the Sparke Helmore’s People’s Choice Award. Rafter took home the runner up of the Judge’s Choice Award and Kaur won the Judge’s Award.
Horgan will now participate in the National Golden Gavel later this year.
