A criminal lawyer who acted for Harriet Wran and a solicitor who appeared as counsel assisting the inquest into the deaths of NSW residents in the MH17 plane crash are among a swag of new appointments to the Local Court.
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Attorney-General Gabrielle Upton announced 11 new magistrates would join the Local Court next year, in a move touted as the single largest group of court appointments in decades.
The ranks of new magistrates are heavily biased in favour of lawyers with criminal law backgrounds, including federal and state prosecutors Imad Abdul-Karim, Susan Horan and Jennifer Price.
Sydney criminal law barrister James Gibson and solicitors Brett Thomas, George Breton and Kathy Crittenden also made the cut.
Ms Crittenden's former clients include Harriet Wran, who spent 759 days in jail for the robbery of small time drug dealer Daniel McNulty and being an accessory after the fact to his murder.
Four commercial lawyers will also join the Local Court bench.
Solicitor Cate Follent, who appeared as counsel assisting the MH17 inquest, and barristers Rodney Brender and Julie Soars will be sworn in next year along with Clayton Utz special counsel Julia Virgo.
"The appointments also bring NSW another step closer to gender equality on the Local Court bench with women now accounting for 62 of the state's 140 magistrates," Ms Upton said.
LOCAL COURT APPOINTMENTS IN 2017
Imad Abdul-Karim
Rodney Brender
George Breton
Kathy Crittenden
Cate Follent
James Gibson
Susan Horan
Jennifer Price
Julie Soars
Brett Thomas
Julia Virgo
