Judicial appointments include John Sfinas, Benjamin Pierce, Peter Ringbauer
The New South Wales Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) has announced the appointments of Lisa Hanshaw, Diane Chappell, Lynda Davids, John Sfinas, Benjamin Pierce, and Peter Ringbauer as six new judges of the Local Court of New South Wales.
“These new appointees bring a wealth of legal expertise, compassion, integrity and a deep understanding of the communities they will serve,” said Michael Daley, NSW attorney general, in a media release.
With these judicial appointments, the Local Court has 160 judges in all, a historic total. The court will swear them in on the following dates:
The DCJ noted that the appointees will sit in locations throughout metropolitan and regional NSW and bring a combined total of over 150 years of criminal, civil, and community law experience, specifically in prosecution, defence, complex litigation, legal aid, and community-based and Aboriginal law services.
“This new cohort will strengthen the diversity, resilience and capability of the Local Court, and I thank them for their service to justice in NSW,” Daley said.
The DCJ shared that the additions aim to help the NSW government manage caseloads, ensure the delivery of fair and accessible justice, and support the Local Court, Australia’s busiest court jurisdiction, which is responsible for over 90 percent of the state’s judicial decisions.
The DCJ’s media release provided more information regarding the six new judges.
With over 25 years of experience, Hanshaw has handled matters involving criminal law, practice, procedure, and advocacy.
She worked with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) for the last 12 years. She prosecuted serious criminal offences in regional areas, including complex trials at the Wagga Wagga, Griffith, and Albury District Courts.
For the first half of her career, Hanshaw acted for First Nations clients in regional NSW as a criminal defence lawyer.
Chappell has over 22 years of experience throughout the NSW public sector. As a senior criminal law practitioner, she has dealt with summary and indictable matters, advocacy, and case management.
She has held senior legal aid roles since 2007. She was a law lecturer at the University of New South Wales and a trial group lawyer with ODPP.
Davids has over two decades of criminal law experience. As a barrister, she has worked on District Court trials and sentencings, Local Court matters, and legal aid and Aboriginal legal service appearances on a duty basis before the Drug and Children’s Courts and the State Parole Authority.
She commenced as a solicitor with legal aid in 2006. She earned bar admission the next year.
Sfinas has 22 years of legal experience. Working primarily in Sydney West, he became a Crown prosecutor in 2020, a trial advocate in 2017, and a solicitor at the ODPP in 2007. Before that, he was an associate for two District Court judges.
He has prosecuted over 55 District Court trials, acted as junior counsel in two Supreme Court trials, certified over 200 matters, negotiated multiple pleas, and appeared in numerous sentence, bail, and interlocutory hearings.
As a Sydney-based criminal law barrister, Pierce has over 26 years of experience as a solicitor and counsel. He has briefed for the Crown and the defence in matters involving serious drug and sexual assault offences, fraud, and kidnapping in the District, Local, and Children’s Courts.
In 2004, he joined the ODPP and worked in Bathurst and Sydney. He began his career at Western Aboriginal Legal Service in Walgett, Dubbo, and Broken Hill.
Ringbauer has 32 years of experience in various legal areas across the public and private sectors, including criminal law, family law, civil law, care matters, mental health, personal injury, workers’ compensation, and medical negligence.
As a sole practitioner in Central Western NSW, he has spent the bulk of his career on Local Court matters. He has been a solicitor with private firms, legal aid, and a community legal centre, as well as a legal member of the Mental Health Review Tribunal.
