Announcing the appointment, NSW Attorney-General John Hatzistergos noted that it is a rare honour for a solicitor to be directly appointed to the Supreme Court and described it as a reflection of Ball's "significant skill and acuity" as a "lawyer with more than three decades of experience in the legal profession".

The highly sought-after litigation lawyer, who counts News Ltd, Foxtel and KPMG as clients, has been a partner at Allens since 1987 and has given advice on mediation and litigation in professional negligence, contract law, corporations law and trade practices disputes. "In recent years, Mr. Ball has focused on large and complex litigation, including the lengthy C7 case in the Federal Court," Hatzistergos mentioned.

Applauding Ball's appointment, the Law Society of NSW president, Mary Macken, said: "Michael Ball is known for his incisive mind. As a solicitor, he made outstanding contributions to the Law Society of NSW's Cost Committee.

"The Law Society wishes him well in his new role and hopes that more and more solicitors continue to be appointed as judges and magistrates in NSW," Macken said.

Ball will be sworn in as a Supreme Court judge on 13 April 2010 and said: "It is certainly a great honour to be appointed to the Supreme Court of New South Wales and I look forward to the challenges that this appointment will bring."