Although criminal law specialist Callan Lloyd did not pass his first accreditation exam, he joked about the result after receiving the Queensland Law Society top honour on Friday.
The Gilshenan & Luton Managing Director, who was named the QLS Outstanding Accredited Specialist for 2024, had the audience laughing as he recalled his first attempt to achieve Specialist Accreditation in Criminal Law.
Callan received his award from the Chief Justice.
Photo: Jon Wright, Event Photos Australia
“I know I will be unable to express the full extent of my gratitude, even to be nominated for this award has meant the world to me,” he told the Specialist Accreditation Christmas Breakfast audience at Brisbane City Hall.
“Being an Accredited Specialist has been an amazing journey. For me it started in 2016 when I first undertook the accreditation program.
“The assessment committee of the day obviously loved reviewing my work so much that they gave me the opportunity to try again.
“So I did when the program was next available two years later. Importantly as I stand here today nearly a decade on, I have no doubt that I am a better lawyer for having tried that year despite coming up short.”
As chair of the Criminal Law sub-committee, he tells all prospective candidates about the “deferred success” he experienced first time round.
“I genuinely do feel that anyone who undertakes the program is better for it, whether they achieve accreditation or not,” he said.
“In one way or another, the late nights and early mornings of study, the weekends in the office completing assessments and mock scenarios of almost impossible complexity lift us to the peak of our professional powers.
“And it is with this mind, that my co-directors and I at Gilshenan & Luton encourage all our eligible lawyers to sit the accreditation program.
“And if I may digress for one moment, I am very proud to say that with the recent success of my colleague Jaimee-Lee Jessop, Gilshenan & Luton now have seven accredited specialists in criminal law and a firm of 14 lawyers, many of whom aren’t yet eligible to sit the program. I feel this is a wonderful achievement.”
The Outstanding Accredited Specialist Award recognises the outstanding contribution, commitment and professionalism of an Accredited Specialist, and their commitment through leadership, education of the profession and promotion of awareness of the Accredited Specialist brand.
QLS President Rebecca Fogerty said Callan had contributed enormously and “devoted countless hours as chair of the Criminal Law Specialist Accredited Committee over the last three years, and has been a member of that committee for five years”.
“He promotes the importance of accreditation in his daily work including in the training programs he runs for his own staff, the advice he gives to his clients and the pro bono work that he undertakes,” Rebecca said.
“He embodies the enhanced skills of a specialist and the value that exists for clients in having a specialist.”
Callan said an early mentor had grilled into him the notion that “you are only as good as your last referral”.
“I’m sure that’s right,” he said. “Why suggest another lawyer if you are not sure that the client to be is in great hands?
“I am very thankful for the specialist accreditation program, because we all know that when someone has gone through the program and come out the other side of the Society’s mark of excellence, the lawyer is no doubt very worthy of our referral.”
Chief Justice Bowskill and President Fogerty congratulated the 25-year
Accredited Specialists. Photo: Jon Wright, Event Photos Australia
25-year Specialist Accreditation Recognition: Jeffrey Biggs, Julie Bligh, Peter Carter, Anita Chand, Clare Creevey, Andrew Crooke, Mitchell Devine, Harold Dignan, Kristyn Everett, Kay Feeney, Rachel Gillies, Robert Grant, Damien Greer, Rodney Hodgson, Vinita Khushal, Adrian Land, Stephen Leach, Stephen Maguire, Stephen Manthey, Peter Matus, Michael McDevitt, Rachael Miller, Darren Moore, Luke Murphy, James Naughton, David Provan, Mark Ryan, Timothy Ryan, Patricia Schmidt, Travis Schultz, Bruce Scott, Jeremy Seeto, Peter Sheehy, Paul Sterling, Gavin Stewart, Cheryl Taifalos, Paul Tully.
Keep an eye on Proctor for more articles and photos from the breakfast event.
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