New President Elected by the Law Society of WA

Once again, the Law Society of Western Australia has elected a new President. The new President in office is none other than Elizabeth Needham. She will serve as president of the Law Society of Western Australia until 31 December 2015. Mrs. Needham was elected on Tuesday 8 September 2015 at a meeting held by the Law Society Council. Since the resignation of Mathew Keogh in August, Elizabeth Needham had been serving as the Acting President of the Law Society.

The position of Senior Vice President has been taken by Alain Musikanth. On the other hand, the position of Treasurer was taken by Marie Botsis while the position of Vice President was claimed by Hayley Cormann. All the above posts were determined by the Law Society Council. The elected officials will serve at the Law Society in their specified posts till 31 December 2015. Mrs. Needham said that she was delighted and honoured to be sworn in office as the Law Society’s new President.

The new President also said that she is looking forward to utilising her skills in representing the Western Australia legal industry. In addition, she will continue working hard towards ensuring that she gives her best on behalf of all the Law Society members. Elizabeth Needham specialises in the legal areas of administrative law, human rights, crime, and family law. She practises from Francis Burt Chambers as a barrister. The new Law Society President worked at Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions as a Principal Legal Officer specialising in complex commercial prosecutions and at Department of Consumer Protection as Director of Legal and Prosecution. She also contributed positively while working in legal aid and community legal centres. As a matter of fact, Mrs. Needham has been practising for over 20 years.

In addition, Elizabeth Needham has been actively involved in a number of Women Lawyers of Western Australia Committees while she was still serving as the President of the Society by then. The Society’s Committees that she has actively contributed to include: Women Lawyers Committee/Joint Law Society, Human Rights Committee, Law Summer School Committee and the Education Committee. Therefore, Mrs. Needham has been of great help to the Western Australia legal profession. She is expected to continue unleashing her potential in the legal industry especially now that she has officially been elected as the Law Society’s new President.

The Law Society of Western Australia is a non-profit organisation that is rated as the peak professional organisation for lawyers in Western Australia. It is dedicated to representing its members whose number is estimated to be more than 3500. Given its position as a respected contributor and leader on the rule of law, access to justice, and law reform, the Society has generally improved the legal industry. In fact, in Western Australia, the Society has been widely acknowledged by the community, government and the legal profession.