Although his term in the upper house is not due to finish until 2015, Hatzistergos will vacate his seat four years early after the Labor Party were condemned to opposition at the recent state election. He said he hopes to have left Parliament by Easter.

"My job here is done," the former barrister told The Australian when commenting on his tenure as NSW Attorney-General.

Considered a steady leader and composed reformer, Hatzistergos was pivotal in the development of the new Australian International Disputes Centre in Sydney, which was jointly funded by the Commonwealth and NSW Governments.

Campaigning against mooted Liberal Party cuts to local courthouses in regional communities in the lead up to last week's election, Hatzistergos was also a critic of any moves to introduce a bill of rights in NSW.

With a Bachelor and Master of Laws, Hatzistergos was a solicitor in private practice between 1983 and 1987, a senior legal officer with the Commonwealth DPP from 1987 to 1989 and was appointed as a barrister in 1989.

Prior to his role as the state's Attorney-General, Hatzistergos held the position of health minister between 2003 and 2007.

It is expected that the Shadow Attorney-General, Greg Smith, a former Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, will assume the role of Attorney-General in the Coalition government.