Parramatta’s first Legal and Justice Coalition

Top law firms, universities and business groups have joined Council to advocate and promote an expanded legal and justice precinct in Parramatta to transform the CBD into one of Australia’s key legal hubs.

The primary purpose of the Parramatta Legal and Justice Expansion Coalition is to undertake activities to advocate and promote for an expanded legal and justice precinct in Parramatta. It is to be the centralised point of advocating for the expansion and a permanent presence of the Supreme Court of NSW in Parramatta. 

Along with a permanent Supreme Court presence, the Parramatta Legal and Justice Expansion Coalition will begin advocating for a new law school and more jobs in the Parramatta CBD. It is estimated that Parramatta legal and justice precinct could attract 2,200 more jobs by 2036 with further investment while attracting more than $350 million a year to the local economy, further cementing Parramatta’s position as the geographic heart of Sydney.

Parramatta & District Law Society President Steve McAuley was elected Chair of the Parramatta Legal & Justice Coalition.

Coalition members include representatives from the University of New England Law School; law firms Coleman Greig Lawyers, Lachlan Macquarie Chambers, Carroll & O’Dea Lawyers, Frank Law, and Shephard & Shephard Solicitors; the Parramatta & District Law Society; and business groups Parramatta Chamber of Commerce, Business Western Sydney, and Property Council of Australia.  

Shephard & Shephard Solicitors is Parramatta’s oldest continuous family-operated law firm, opening its first local office in 1908.
The firm’s principal Michael Shephard said: “I have watched the dramatic growth of the Parramatta legal precinct with great pride over the last 50 years. That growth is understandable given the precinct’s more relevant and convenient location for the people of Greater Sydney and the whole of NSW. I am keen to assist the Council’s new coalition in making the precinct even more relevant and useful.”

KEY FACTS

• Parramatta is the second largest legal centre in NSW and its courts hear 25,000 cases a year.
• Over the next 20 years, court matters in Parramatta are expected to increase by 30%.
• Greater Sydney has 5% of the state’s legal jobs compared with 71% in the Sydney CBD.
• Between 2016 and 2036, the number of legal services professionals living within 30 minutes of Parramatta will nearly double.
• If the Parramatta Supreme Court had a permanent judge, it could hear an extra 4,000 matters a year.