Four new magistrates appointed to the Local Court of NSW

Among them is Michel Ong, who was a solicitor for the Western Aboriginal Legal Service throughout the far west of NSW and joined Legal Aid NSW in 2005.

Mr Ong has practiced for 18 years exclusively in the area of criminal law and has extensive experience in the local, children's and district courts.

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He joins the bench from the Sutherland Office of Legal Aid where he was the solicitor in charge.

Mr Ong is joined by Kasey Pearce, Gareth Christofi and Rebecca Hosking who will replace magistrates who have been retired from the court and will begin service in country regions, following 12 months of training in Sydney.

Attorney General Mark Speakman said the new magistrates would bring 80 years of legal experience to the Local Court of NSW.

"The Local Court is the engine room of the NSW justice system, dealing with 96 per cent of all criminal prosecutions and more than 90 per cent of civil cases," he said.

"Our new magistrates have an impressive breadth of experience across the legal system and will be a tremendous asset to the Local Court."

He said these new appointment would bring the Local Court nearer to gender parity, with now 70 female and 71 male magistrates.

"It is encouraging to see this figure edge closer in a profession that has traditionally been male-dominated," Mr Speakman said.

President of the Law Society of NSW, Juliana Warner said she welcomed the four new magistrates who each bring a "wealth of knowledge and experience" to the Local Court.

"Members of our profession play a valuable role in the community and in providing access to justice," she said.

"It is pleasing to see that this contribution has been reflected in these latest appointments and I have every confidence Mr Ong, Ms Pearce, Mr Christofi and Ms Hosking will make exceptional judicial officers."

Ms Warner said she would continue to advocate for additional magistrates to ease the pressure on the state's local courts.

Mr Ong and Ms Pearce will be sworn in on May 24, and Mr Christofi and Ms Hosking will be sworn in on June 15.

Mr Christofi has been elevated to the bench from his role as a Crown Prosecutor. He gained his law degree at Macquarie University in 1997 and was admitted to the Supreme Court of NSW in 1998.

He worked for many years as a solicitor with the NSW Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. Mr Christofi has also appeared in Local Courts throughout NSW and has provided advice to the Director of Public Prosecutions in relation to investigations conducted by the NSW Police, Police Integrity Commission and Independent Commission Against Corruption.

Since 2014, Mr Christofi has appeared as a Crown Prosecutor in complex and serious criminal trials in the District and Supreme Courts.

Ms Pearce is an accredited specialist in criminal law and holds a Master of Laws (Criminal Practice) from the University of Wollongong.

Since her admission as a legal practitioner in 2002, Ms Pearce has worked in both private practice and for Legal Aid NSW, predominantly in criminal law. She has appeared in the Children's Court, Local Court, District Court and Supreme Court.

Prior to this, she worked in several policy positions for the NSW Government and as a private consultant in crime prevention policy. She established her own criminal law practice in 2016.

Ms Hosking gained her Arts/Law degrees at the Australian National University. She was admitted to the Supreme Court of NSW and the High Court of Australia in 2001.

For 20 years, Ms Hosking has specialised in dispute resolution, defending public liability and professional indemnity claims in jurisdictions from the Local Court to the the Court of Appeal.

She is a nationally accredited mediator and has worked pro bono for a variety of not-for-profit organisations including the Women's Legal Service, which provides legal help to victim survivors of domestic and sexual violence. Most recently, Ms Hosking has been a partner at a private Sydney law firm.