Council of Law Reporting for NSW

About

The Council of Law Reporting for NSW was established under the Council of Law Reporting Act 1969. The Council’s overall goal is the efficient reporting of judicial decisions in NSW, primarily for use by the legal profession and the judiciary.

The Council is responsible for selecting cases to be published in the NSW Law Reports. The Council is comprised of: - The Attorney General - The Solicitor General - The President of the New South Wales Bar Association - The President of the Law Society of New South Wales - Seven members of the legal profession appointed by the Governor: five barristers nominated by the NSW Bar Association and two solicitors nominated by the Law Society of NSW

What kind of work?

The process of publishing cases in the NSWLR involves: - Considering judgements and decisions of superior courts in NSW and identifying those that will be significant in the development, interpretation and/or application of the law in NSW - Drafting headnotes for each case - Verifying judgements, including checking citations, quotations and references

Location

Sydney

Student Opportunities

The Council offers paid positions as Legal Admin Assistants. The work only requires a commitment of half a day per week, and is ideal for law students. Students must have completed at least one year of law school to apply. Duties of admin assistants include: - Data entry and management - Updating the NSWLR website when new cases are selected - Keeping case selection statistics and provide details to the General Manager for reporting to the Council. - Conducting twice yearly audits of Caselaw to check that all decisions have been received. - Monitoring the status of appeals in cases selected as reportable - Compiling materials such as appeal lists, judicial movements etc for the covers of the bound volumes

Fun Fact / Recent Project

History of the Council The first systematic attempt to prepare reports of the Court began in 1828, when James Dowling, a barrister and accomplished law reporter from England, took up an appointment as a judge of the Court and published his own decisions. Prior to 1862 the only source of court reporting in New South Wales was provided by colonial newspapers. Continuous law reporting in New South Wales began in 1863 with reports prepared by two barristers, based largely on newspaper reports. For the period prior to 1828, the only readily available source of court reports is the Macquarie University Division of Law website. The Council was established in 1963.