First female NSW Crown Solicitor appointed
Monday 15 June 2015 @ 9.22 a.m. | Judiciary, Legal Profession & Procedure
New South Wales has appointed the State's first female Crown Solicitor on who begins her appointment on 13 July 2015.
Background to the Crown Solicitor's Office
The Crown Solicitor's Office (CSO) operates as a Public Service Executive Agency related to the Department of Justice with the Crown Solicitor as Head of the agency under Schedule 1 of the Government Sector Employment Act 2013.
The CSO provides legal services to the State Government of NSW and the other entities defined under s. 110 of the Legal Profession Act 2004.
They are the largest provider of legal services to the NSW Government and its agencies and the sole provider of legal services in all matters which are regarded as being core to government functions. They also provide general commercial, or untied, services to the Government and its agencies.
The Retiring Crown Solicitor
Ian Knight retired as Crown Solicitor on 20 February 2015 after 20 years as Crown Solicitor for New South Wales, serving under 13 Premiers and 15 Attorneys General.
He joined the CSO as a legal clerk in 1970 and has spent all but three years of a 45 year career advancing from its most junior legal role to its most senior.
The Incoming Crown Solicitor
Lea Armstrong will become the first female Crown Solicitor of New South Wales.
Ms Armstrong most recently acted as the NSW Treasury’s first general counsel, providing the government with advice on developing electricity network legislation and the long-term leasing of the state's three largest ports. She spent 18 years at the CSO, previously acting as general counsel and as an assistant crown solicitor in commercial and administrative law.
Ms Armstrong said she was extremely honoured to be the first woman to take on the role:
"I think it is incredibly important for female lawyers and women in government to have positive role models who hold senior positions in the public service...There is no doubt it will be a huge challenge, but an exciting and rewarding one and I look forward to working broadly across the legal and government sectors over the coming months."
The announcement follows hot on the heels of two other ground-breaking appointments; Gladys Berejiklian recently stepped up as the first female treasurer of NSW and Gabrielle Upton became the state's first female attorney-general in April 2015.
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