Law Society

Council Election 2025

The Law Society Council

The work required of Law Society Councillors is demanding and involves a substantial commitment of time and effort. Members of the Council, other than Office Bearers, might expect to commit, on average, the equivalent of at least one half-day a week to Law Society business, excluding reading and preparation times.

The Council currently meets around ten times a year. Additional special Council meetings are called when required. The usual commencement time for monthly meetings is 4.00 pm and Council may sit for three hours or longer. In addition, Councillors are expected to serve on committees involving Law Society representational and regulatory activities and attend a considerable number of functions arranged by the Law Society from time to time.

2025 Council Vacancies

The 2025 Notice of Forthcoming Election has been sent to Solicitor Members (see Notice).

The following Councillors are due to retire as Councillors at the Annual General Meeting of The Law Society of New South Wales which will be held at 4.30pm on Thursday 23 October 2025:

Country Councillor ANTHONY GORDON
Suburban Councillor ANGELO BILIAS
Large Firm Councillor JADE TYRRELL
Corporate Councillor RONAN MacSWEENEY
Councillors JENNIFER BALL 
EREBONI (ALEXIA) YAZDANI
Young Lawyer Councillor TAYLAH SPIROVSKI


All retiring Councillors are eligible to stand for re-election. Jennifer Ball, as President, is not required to stand for re-election as she remains a member of the Council ex-officio and will become Immediate Past President on 1 January 2026. Ronan MacSweeney, Senior Vice-President, is not required to stand for re-election as he remains a member of the Council ex-officio and will become President on 1 January 2026. 

The Young Lawyer vacancy is filled by appointment for a 1-year term in accordance with clause 12.1.2 of the Law Society’s Constitution.

Vacancies for the 2025 Council Election are as follows:

For a three-year term:

  • 1 x Country Councillor
  • 1 x Suburban Councillor
  • 1 x Large Firm Councillor
  • 1 x Corporate Councillor
  • 2 x Unreserved Councillors

For a one-year term

  • 1 x Young Lawyer Councillor (by appointment)

Why you should nominate

Solicitor Members are eligible to stand for election. Please consider nominating for Council. 

In nominating for the 2025 Council election, you can play a critical role in ensuring the profession benefits from leadership that understands and adapts to the changing demands of practice. This is your opportunity to make a difference in your profession and your community.

Law Society Councillors gain a unique insight into the workings of the legal profession. Councillors lead the profession and are ideally placed to consider the issues, pressures and opportunities that members face in daily practice. Electing trusted leaders strengthens the future of the profession.

NOMINATE NOW - You can make a difference
To request a Nomination Kit, contact the Law Society’s Company Secretary at  secretary@lawsociety.com.au or phone (02)9926 0213. 
 

Nomination requirements

  1. Ensure you are a Solicitor Member of the Law Society.
  2. Note the list of vacancies to be filled at the 2025 Law Society Council election.
  3. Complete and sign the 2025 Council election nomination form, ensuring that signatures of at least seven Solicitor Members have been obtained in support of your nomination. If you are unable to arrange for seven Solicitor Members to sign the same original nomination form, the form that you have signed can be copied and separately forwarded to individual nominating Solicitor Members for signature. These signed forms can be returned to the Law Society as separate documents (via email or post.) Your nomination will not be valid unless at least seven Solicitor Members have signed and forwarded nomination forms supporting your nomination, and your signature, as candidate, also appears on these forms.
  4. Send your completed nomination form to the Law Society’s Company Secretary , by email to secretary@lawsociety.com.au, or by mail or hand delivery to Level 3, 170 Phillip Street, Sydney 2000. Your completed nomination must be received at the Law Society prior to 4.00pm on Monday 15 September 2025.
  5. Prior to 4.00pm on Monday 15 September 2025, please also provide to the Law Society a 100-word biographical note and a recent portrait photograph for inclusion in the official election documents. The information and photo will be published on the Law Society website in relation to the Council election, the third party online voting platform hosted by Big Pulse and in the Voting Instructions and Candidate Information election materials.

Candidate canvassing

The Law Society intends to make available to Solicitor Members a webpage for candidate canvassing materials. Relevant information will be available throughout the election period in one central place for all candidates. Nominees should complete the Candidate Information Form and provide this via email to the Law Society’s Company Secretary at secretary@lawsociety.com.au so that their relevant information (including an image of them) is able to be included on the central webpage.

Online voting - external host provider

The 2025 Law Society election will again be hosted by BigPulse, a web-based online service provider. BigPulse has conducted online elections for the Law Society for the past nine years.  
An email with an “Invitation to Vote” will be forwarded during the last week in September to Solicitor Members who have unique email addresses recorded with the Law Society.
We encourage Solicitor Members to consider voting online to ensure your vote is received before the ballot closes at 2.00pm on Monday 20 October 2025.

Paper ballots

Solicitor Members who have opted in to receiving hard copies may choose to vote by completing the printed ballot paper which will be sent by post to those Solicitor Members.
Solicitor Members are encouraged to vote online.

Please remember - you can only vote once.

Important dates

Tuesday 26 August 2025 – Notification of Election

Notice of Forthcoming Election is sent to Solicitor Members with email addresses by email (and via the Law Society’s Monday Briefs on Monday 1 September 2025). A printed copy of the Notice will be sent to Solicitor Members who have not provided an email address.

Tuesday 26 August 2025 to 4.00 pm Monday 15 September 2025 – Nominations 

Requirements:

  1. Nominees must submit a Nomination Form, signed by not less than seven other Solicitor Members of the Law Society and by the Nominee.
  2. Nominations are to be received by the Company Secretary prior to 4.00pm Monday 15 September 2025 by email secretary@lawsociety.com.au, or by post or hand delivery to Level 3,170 Phillip Street, Sydney 2000.
  3. The following additional materials must be received by the Law Society’s Company Secretary by 4.00pm Monday 15 September 2025 in order to be included in the voting/online materials:
    • A brief biographical note (limit 100 words).
    • b. A recent high-resolution portrait photograph (not more than 12 months old).

Monday 29 September 2025 - Monday 20 October 2025 – Voting

For the 2025 election, Solicitor Members with unique email addresses will again have an opportunity to vote electronically.

Online: The 2025 Council election is again hosted by BigPulse, the Law Society’s nominated external service provider. If you are a Solicitor Member and have a unique email address, you will receive an email, “Invitation to Vote” for the 2025 Council election, with instructions on how to link to the electronic voting paper. If you have not received an email inviting you to vote, please first check your “Junk Email” folder and then contact your IT Department to confirm that the email has not been blocked by your organisation’s firewall or spam filter.

Printed Ballot: Solicitor Members who have elected to receive hard copies will receive voting instructions, a printed ballot paper and two return envelopes (inner and outer envelopes). You can vote for up to, but not more than, the number of candidates required to be elected to fill available vacancies. If you are voting using a printed ballot paper, please complete and return the ballot paper as soon as possible to ensure receipt by the Law Society prior to close of ballot at 2.00pm on Monday 20 October 2025.

Monday 20 October 2025 – Ballot closes at 2.00pm

Ballots cannot be accepted after this time.

Thursday 23 October 2025 – Annual General Meeting – 4.30pm

At the Annual General Meeting, successful candidates are announced and will hold office effective from 23 October 2025

Still have questions?

Frequently

Asked Questions

Solicitor Members are generally elected for a three-year term, commencing from the announcement of election results at the Annual General Meeting. The number of vacancies annually is dependent on the number of retiring Councillors whose three-year term has expired, together with any casual vacancies that may arise. Should a casual vacancy occur on the Council, the vacancy is filled effective until the next annual Council election, when the position is filled for the remainder of the designated term on Council.

The Council currently meets around ten times a year. Additional special Council meetings are called when required. The usual commencement time for monthly meetings is 4.00pm and the Council may sit for three hours or longer.

Councillors are expected to serve on committees involving Law Society representational and regulatory activities and attend a considerable number of functions arranged by the Law Society from time to time.

Solicitor Members are eligible to stand for election and to vote.

Nomination kits are available on request by emailing the Law Society’s Company Secretary at secretary@lawsociety.com.au or phoning (02) 9926 0213.

Nominees must submit a Nomination Form, signed by not less than seven other Solicitor Members of the Law Society and including the Nominee’s consent to the nomination.

If you are unable to arrange for seven Solicitor Members to sign the same original nomination form, your signed form can be copied/scanned and separately forwarded to individual nominating Solicitor Members for signature. These signed forms can be returned to the Law Society as separate documents via email or post but must be received before the nomination period closes for your nomination to be declared valid. Nominations must be received by the Company Secretary by 4.00pm Monday 15 September 2025 by email secretary@lawsociety.com.au, or by post or hand delivery to Level 3,170 Phillip Street, Sydney 2000.

Please include with your completed nomination form:

  • A biographical note (limit 100 words)
  • A recent high-resolution portrait photograph.

During the last week in September, Solicitor Members will receive an invitation via email to vote electronically (if an email address has been provided). Solicitor Members who have elected to receive hard copies will be forwarded printed election materials by post.

We encourage Solicitor Members to consider voting online to ensure your vote is received before the ballot closes at 2.00pm on Monday 20 October 2025.

Online Vote – a personalised email “Invitation to Vote” from the Law Society / BigPulse will be forwarded to you to enable you to vote online.

Paper Vote – Solicitor Members who have elected to receive hard copies will be forwarded a printed ballot paper, voting instructions and an inner and outer return envelope.

Please remember that you can only vote once.

Voting opens during the last week in September 2025.

Voting closes at 2.00pm on Monday 20 October 2025.

Election results are announced at the Annual General Meeting to be held on Thursday 23 October 2025 at 4.30pm.

The Law Society’s Company Secretary
Email: secretary@lawsociety.com.au
Ph: (02) 9926 0213