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President's Message

Heidi Fairhall – President, NSW Young Lawyers 2012

This year we have achieved a lot to be proud of, including the launch of our mental health website, the strengthening of our civics education campaign, the creation of a dedicated jobs network, a strong and vibrant CLE program, an impressive list of submissions to government and policymakers and ongoing work on committee guides and publications of which we are very proud. This year also saw the rejuvenation of our Bushweb regional practitioners email list and an increased focus on developing our network of regional practitioners, which are areas which will continue to be a focus next year.

It was heartening to see such a diverse range of members at our annual assembly, which was held in Manly on 12-13 November 2011. Our assemblies continue to grow from strength to strength and remain a critical part of the organisation's planning and decision-making. During the annual assembly, we elected new officebearers Greg Johnson (Vice President), Adam Ahmed (Treasurer) and Lisa Franzini (Secretary). Welcome also to our new Councillors Renee Bianchi, JY Lee and Ajay Khandhar. The result is a strong and vibrant team with whom I am looking forward to working with next year.

I would like to thank our outgoing president, Daniel Petrushnko, for his dedication, enthusiasm and positivity which has invigorated and sustained the organisation over the year. The achievements of our organisation this year is testament to Daniel's vision, as well as the hard work of many of our members across a range of committees.

Thank you also to our outgoing Secretary, Rebecca Barry, and Treasurer, Thomas Spohr, both of whom continue their involvement with the organisation as elected Councillors. Thank you also to our outgoing Immediate Past President, Pouyan Afshar, and outgoing Councillors Carmel Lee, Faraz Maghami and Stuart Dullard. Finally, thank you to our Executive Officer, Denise Cheng, and her team at the NSWYL office, without whom the organisation would come to a grinding halt.

Next year we have a lot of challenges ahead, as we look to consolidate and build on our achievements for the last few years and start planning for the next three years. Some of the areas of focus for the coming year include social justice and serving the community, continuing to strengthen our networks with regional practitioners and ongoing initiatives to build on our mental health campaign to support and serve our members.

As always, I encourage you to contact me if you have any questions or feedback about the organisation and to get involved in our committees. They are the heart of our organisation and a real agent for change. Our committees are open to any young lawyer (under the age of 36 or in your first five years of practice) to join and become involved.

Heidi Fairhall
President 
NSW Young Lawyers