A highly-regarded local barrister was welcomed as the Family Court's newest judge during a packed ceremony on Tuesday.
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Shane Gill was announced earlier this month as the newest addition to the bench, a decision praised by the local legal fraternity.
Mr Gill, now Justice Gill, has worked extensively in complex criminal and family law matters in the ACT for decades.
Most recently, he was president of the ACT Bar Association, a position now filled by barrister Ken Archer.
During his time in the close-knit ACT jurisdiction, he has gained huge respect from his colleagues, for his intelligence, compassion, fairness, and insight.
That respect was laid bare during a ceremonial setting of the court on Tuesday, where speakers from the ACT Bar Association, the Law Council of Australia, Law Society of the ACT, and others praised his talents, and poked occasional fun at his now-removed "mutton chops" and "young-at-heart attitude".
The court heard Justice Gill's experience at handling complex, difficult, and sensitive criminal and family law matters put him in good stead for the Family Court bench.
Justice Gill said after the ceremony that it had been emotional to hear such praise from a community that he'd developed such strong bonds with over the years.
"These are people I've worked with here with for the past 20 years, and it was very nice to hear what they had to say," he said.
"It's great to have family participate, it's a fairly major milestone becoming a judge because it's taking on such a significant responsibility."
He said his experience in the family court had given him a good understanding of what was required of him as a judge.
"Because I've essentially always done this sort of work I've got a reasonable idea of what it involves," he said.
"It's about being able to listen to people, to hear what they have to say so that you can grapple with the true issues."
During the ceremony, Australian Bar Association vice-president William Alstergren, QC, said Justice Gill appeared destined for the bench even as a child.
"You are the first lawyer in your family. However, it was evident to your siblings that this would be your calling," he said.
"Your brother Tim has written: 'even when we were kids we thought he should be a judge due not only to his sharp wit and scary level of intellect, but also to his sense of fairness that pervaded every action and decision he made'."
