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The NSW Local Court is set to strengthen its capacity, with four experienced lawyers joining the bench next month to bring its judicial ranks to a record 161.
The NSW government has appointed four experienced lawyers to the state’s Local Court, strengthening the capacity of Australia’s busiest court jurisdiction and bringing the number of judges to a record 161.
The additions come after the Local Court of NSW reached a historic milestone, lifting its judicial ranks to a record 160 in June, following the appointment of six new judges.
Robert Hoyles, Liam Shaw, Elizabeth Parkes, and Alison Nowland will be sworn in next month, which will lift the number to 161.
Hoyles is the executive director of Legal Aid’s criminal law division, where he oversees more than 350 criminal lawyers. He has spent his career practising criminal defence law across Legal Aid, the Aboriginal Legal Service and private practice.
Graduating from the University of Western Sydney in 2006 with a bachelor of arts and bachelor of laws, Hoyles spent his early career working as a researcher to judges in the Supreme Court and the NSW Court of Appeal.
Shaw has served as a Crown prosecutor for 20 years, appearing in more than 300 District Court trials, including 20 murder trials.
He has advised on prosecutions in Vanuatu, where he appeared in murder and corruption cases, and worked as an international public defender in East Timor.
Shaw graduated with a bachelor of laws from the University of Queensland in 1994 and was admitted as a lawyer that same year, before he was called to the Bar in 2006.
Parkes is a solicitor advocate with Legal Aid and an accredited specialist in criminal law. She has experience appearing in District Court trials, sentencing proceedings and case conferences, as well as conducting complex hearings.
Parkes studied a bachelor of arts at the University of Sydney and a bachelor of laws at the University of Wollongong and was admitted as a solicitor in 1999.
Nowland has 14 years of legal experience across criminal law, advocacy, civil law, dispute resolution, equity and probate.
As principal solicitor at Nowland Lawyers, she managed one of the largest criminal law practices in Newcastle and the Hunter region.
She has worked across the public and private sectors, representing clients on both sides of the bar, including roles at Legal Aid and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP).
Attorney-General Michael Daley recognised the vast experience that the judges will bring to the Local Court.
“It is Australia’s busiest court and the engine room of justice in NSW,” Daley said.
“As Attorney-General, I remain determined to strengthen its capacity to serve the people of NSW.”
