Law may have skipped a generation or two in the Lewis family but it is now going strong.
Milburns Law consultant David Lewis celebrated 50 years in the profession at the Queensland Law Society Celebrate Recognise Socialise event in Hervey Bay on Tuesday, and Maryborough solicitor Peter Ponti of Carswell & Company was also acknowledged.
David making a speech at yesterday’s lunch.
“I was well into sub-senior (grade 11) before I turned my mind seriously to the question of a career,” David recalled. “I wasn’t interested in medicine. I liked science but couldn’t see myself there for a lifetime. I was keen on literature, politics, debating and the world of ideas. Somehow law seemed a sound option, at least as a place to start and get a job.
“There hadn’t been a lawyer in the family since my great great grandfather, who had made his pile in the Tichborne case in the mid-19th century, but it seemed a good time to start again.
“It was only when I started studying that I really came to appreciate how interesting the law is, and how important, to the individual and to society. And later I came to understand the incredible diversity there is within the discipline and the profession.”
His daughter Bridget followed in his footsteps and was admitted in 2003. She is now an Associate Professor at QUT, specialising in international law.
David studied at University of Queensland (BA, LLB) then followed with Articles at Brisbane firm Heiser Bayly and Mortensen, before being admitted in 1974.
He was then employed with Dougherty and Associates, Burleigh Heads, and Pender & Whitehouse, Brisbane.
David moved to Hervey Bay in September 1976, to join Carty & Daniel, becoming a partner in 1977. He remained with that firm through various changes of name (now Lewis & McNamara) until 2010 however he never planned to leave the city.
“While I had grown up in country North Queensland, I wasn’t contemplating moving far from the city, until Susan and I did a road trip as far up as Port Douglas,” he said.
“We had recently bought a sailing dinghy, and finding so many lovely places by the sea set us thinking. Then a job came up in Hervey Bay. We checked it out and said yes.
“Legal practice in the regions offers almost all of the advantages of the city, and then some of its own. The matters one deals with are much the same, as you would expect. But as firms are smaller, you get to work across as wide a spectrum as you want. It’s easy to get to know all of one’s colleagues, so there is plenty of camaraderie.
“Notable is the significant effort the Law Society makes to involve the regions, and the District Law Associations are a valuable contribution to regional professional life.
“And then there are all the advantages of living in a smaller town or city. It’s not just the ease of getting to work, and home for lunch.
“In addition smaller centres offer lots of opportunities to be involved in the community, to participate in recreational activities and so on. For me, that has included involvement with musical ensembles, stints on community radio, and of course sailing.
“If your ambition is to get to the top of the legal tree, then perhaps the regions are a disadvantage, but then we have had plenty of QLS presidents from regional areas.”
Outside of practice, David has been a Sessional Member of QCAT (2011-2014) and given back to his local community as a Councillor on the Fraser Coast Regional Council from 2016-24.
And now as he looks back at 50-odd years of practice, he feels he made the right career choice.
“In one sense, achieving 50 years doesn’t require a lot – just live long enough, keep working and keep out of trouble. But it is more than that,” he said.
“I hadn’t thought much about reaching 50 years until it was on me, but there is a warm inner glow, and it’s a nice opportunity to reflect on and be grateful for all that a career in the law has provided.
“While I still do a small amount of consultancy, my time has freed up to work on a number of other things that interest me. But the legal issues of the day are still a priority, and perhaps those of us in the senior years can pass on some of the benefits of our experience.”
Peter Ponti completed his articles in Townsville and was admitted to practice in August 1974.
The long-serving solicitor, who was appointed a Notary Public in 1986, said he “fell into” the law.
“My friend John McCallum was doing articles and he convinced me it would be a good move,” he said.
Peter joined Carswell & Company Solicitors in October 1977 and became a partner in May 1978.
He has practised in all aspects of personal injury law, family law and estate administration. Peter continues to act for a wide range of clients including individuals, property developers, business owners and franchisees.
He enjoys the “cut and thrust of country practice” and “dealing with the most original matters apart from anything too complicated which is referred out”.
As for marking 50 years in the one profession, Peter said it may show “a distinct lack of imagination”.
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