Join or renew your membership to NSW Regional Women Lawyers.

NRWL membership is for the period from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027.

Our current membership fees are:

Lawyers/barristers/judiciary/academic - $60.00 (inc GST)
Concession/unemployed- $30.00 (inc GST)
Students - Free

NSW Regional Women Lawyers has been in existence since December 2022 and in that time with your support, we have achieved the following:

EVENTS

Welcomed more than 300 attendees to our events to showcase the talent of women working in the law in rural and regional New South Wales and provide our members with valuable and relevant continuing education and networking opportunities.

End of Year Dinner 2025 held in Newcastle on 14 November 2025 with our guest speaker Clinical Neuropsychologist and Lawyer Dr Amee Baird who will speak about her career and her research for her 2024 Law and Justice Foundation Fellowship on ‘Diversion for Dementia: Access to Criminal Justice for People with Dementia’.
Conference held in Dubbo in September 2025 including keynote speaker Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Judge Julie Suthers, Senior Judicial Registrar Tracy Flintoff from the Lismore Registry of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, Catherine Henry from Catherine Henry Lawyers in Newcastle, Charlotte Egan from Booth Brown Legal in Dubbo, Solicitor Advocate of the Coronial Inquest Unit at Legal Aid NSW Danielle Captain-Webb, Coronial and Trial Advocate at the Aboriginal Legal Services (NSW) Emma Parker, President of the Orana Law Society Jennifer Spear, and many more: CONFERENCE-PROGRAM-2025.pdf
In the first 6 months of 2025 we have prepared and recorded a series of lunch and learn webinars which are all available for purchase: https://events.humanitix.com/webinar-recordings/tickets
End of Year Dinner 2024 held in Newcastle with our guest speaker, Newcastle based barrister and public defender Lizzie McLaughlin who talked about going to the bar as a regional lawyer.
Conference held in Armidale in March 2024 including keynote speaker Federal Circuit and Family Court Judge Jane Costigan and District Court Judge Robyn Tupman. Speakers discussed - Transforming sexual harassment culture in rural and regional areas; Climate Change litigation and careers in environmental law; Multi-party disputes in Building and Construction Law and the Design and Building Practitioners Act; Costs Assessments – what, when, why, how?; Blockchain in rural and regional legal practice; Financials of running a regional law firm; Recruitment and retention of lawyers in rural and regional legal practice.
End of Year Dinner 2023 held in Newcastle with special guest Professor Belinda Bennett, the new Head of School and Dean of the University of Newcastle School of Law & Justice.
Conference held in Port Macquarie in September 2023 with keynote speaker Senior Judicial Registrar from the Lismore Registry of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia and panel discussions on- How women in the regions can achieve the same benefits and opportunities as their city colleagues when working in the law; Progressing in leadership – What will I do to lift myself? What will I do to lift other women?; Community Lawyering in regional New South Wales – Community Legal Centres, Legal Aid and the Aboriginal Legal Service; Becoming a Partner for Regional Women Lawyers; Running your own law firm in Regional NSW and Career pathways – from the bar and bench for regional women lawyers.
Inaugural Conference in Orange opened by Fiona McLeod SC held in March 2023 with speakers presenting on – Running a regional practice; Professional development and growth – leadership and capacity training; Mentoring young lawyers and those re-entering the profession developing new areas of practice; Marketing and business development strategies; Current challenges for regional family law practitioners and Taking the leap to the bar for regional women barristers.
Our launch Event at Newcastle University with keynote speakers Professor Trish Mundy and Dr Natasha Cicca in February 2023.

Thank you to all the speakers who volunteered their time and to our first sponsors who have made these events possible – BCU Bank, Port Macquarie Council, Catherine Henry Lawyers, E-Conveyancing NSW, Moin Morris Schaefer, University of New England, Charles Sturt University, University of Newcastle and our latest sponsor Lodestone Business Law.

MEDIA

NSW Regional Women Lawyers has featured in the Media including:

Law Society Journal, Armidale Express, NBN News, Channel 7 News, ABC Radio, Newcastle Weekly, Hunter Headline, Lawyers Weekly, Central Coast Community News and more.

LOOKING FORWARD

Thank you for supporting us in 2025/2026 and we hope you will join us as we work in 2026/2027 to achieving our strategic goals. Read our strategic plan here.

We appreciate our hard working committee members – Emalene Gemmell, Hannah Stenstrom, Barbara-Rose Townsend, Emma Boyce, Rose Charlton, Catherine Henry, Ayanah Hood, Danielle Hughes, Tory Lynch, Michelle Meares, Jennifer Spear, for all their contributions.

Lisa Coates - President

NSW Regional Women Lawyers ABN 62 877 235 018

Visit our Website
Email us at secretary@nrwl.org.au

https://lsj.com.au/articles/nsw-regional-rural-and-remote-lawyers-on-their-key-concerns/

Contact the host of Annual Membership NSW Regional Women Lawyers 2026-2027