Senior Legal Counsel at de Groots Wills and Estate Lawyers, Dr John de Groot AM was surprised and delighted to be presented with the Queensland Law Society’s highest honour – the President’s Medal – on Friday night in Brisbane.
The President’s Medal recognises an experienced legal practitioner at the pinnacle of their career, who has shown great integrity, courage, and responsibility through their commitment to continual improvement not only of themselves but the profession.
Having been named in the King’s Birthday Honours List in 2024 for “significant service to the law, to tertiary education, and to the community”, an Honorary QLS Member in 2023 and elected QLS President in 2012, the medal is another career highlight for Dr de Groot.
A practitioner with five decades of experience – who specialises in succession law, Dr de Groot said the recognition was “totally out of the blue”.
“I had never in my wildest dreams expected it and that made it all the more a wonderful surprise,” Dr de Groot said.
“I enjoy practising law very much, but clearly it’s a wonderful honour and a very great honour and I’m absolutely delighted to have received it.
“The greatest achievement of my career is that I’ve had a career in the law. That sounds a bit trite, but I think that’s probably the greatest achievement of my career, that I stumbled into the law and I’ve been so happy to be in it.”
Law was not Dr de Groot’s first choice, or at least, it was not his father’s first career choice for his son. His father, a marine engineer, wanted him to go to university and follow in his footsteps.
The original intention was to earn a degree in civil engineering.
“I said to Dad, ‘I just don’t feel that civil engineering’s going to be the thing for me’. I still wanted to go to university as that was always instilled in me by my parents,” he recalled.
“I thought, “Well, what’s the most general thing I could possibly do that could lead to some thing?’ and that was an arts/law degree.
“The arts degree was a very general start with a bit of a law component and leading on to law. As I progressed, I thought, this law is all right. And so I just kept rolling on.
“Once I was practising law, I liked having a problem and trying to help the person sort it out.”
Dr de Groot completed his articles of clerkship at Thynne and Macartney, “a great firm of serious and professional lawyers”.
“My principal, Mr Henry Lawler, served two terms as President of the Society. I very much appreciate having had the opportunity to begin my professional career with that firm,” he said.
“My first job as a solicitor after completing my articles was with Mr Jim Fitzgerald. He was an outstanding example of not only an excellent lawyer, but also a particularly decent person. I especially recall his calmness under pressure.”
Dr de Groot said when he started his legal career, there were three duties that were highlighted by the then Chief Justice of Queensland: Duty to the court; Duty to the due administration of justice; and Duty to the client.
“While those duties still lie at the heart of our responsibilities, I think in the last couple of decades and very recently, three further and perhaps overarching duties have emerged that are also impelling,” he told the Brisbane audience.
“In my view, they are a duty of competence; a duty to maintain our mental health and well-being; and a duty to responsibly utilize artificial intelligence, which has exploded on the scene recently.
“In respect to each of these more recent duties, the Queensland Law Society has been exemplary, in my view, in equipping and supporting its members to meet the requirements of those duties.
“For the duty of competence, the Society has long offered excellent continuing professional development/continuing legal education programs for its members.
“In relation to the maintenance of mental health and well-being, LawCare, introduced by the Society as an Australian first in 1998, is there to ensure members and their families receive the support and professional help they may need from qualified healthcare providers.
“On the AI front, the Society has issued Guidance Statement 37, which provides recommendations on the appropriate use of AI in practice.
“I think we will all be aware of the problems that reliance on AI can create if not carefully reviewed.”
Last year, Dr de Groot also marked the 40th anniversary of the publication of his text, Wills, Probate and Administration Practice (Queensland). It was the first of its kind and has helped guide lawyers, students and legal educators through the changing landscape of succession law.
He paid tribute in his acceptance speech to Professor Tony Lee, who inspired him as a “standout teacher from my undergraduate days, who lectured me in succession law”.
“He told great stories in which a beguiling young woman called Juanita engaged in some wild and unpredictable activities – of succession law relevance – and managed to teach us valuable lessons.
“Much of my career practising in the wills and estates area has drawn on those lessons.
“I was also privileged to work with Sir Matthew Farrer in London. He was the solicitor who acted for the late Queen Elizabeth II and the immediate Royal family for over 26 years.
“In the obituaries that were published in the major London newspapers, on his passing a couple of years ago, it’s not surprising that they all commented that, amongst many other admirable qualities, he was renowned for his discretion.
“My hope is that some of his discipline in practising the law and his elegant and conversational style of legal writing has rubbed off on me.”
Dr de Groot went on to say his greatest supporter and role model has been his wife Margot, who is also a colleague as Director of de Groots Wills and Estates Lawyers.
“She has been all that I could possibly have wished for as a partner in law and in life,” he said.
“Our children, Alice and Geoff, who are also here tonight, deserve a special thank you for the happiness they have brought into my life.
“So, these are the people who have inspired me, and I thank them for their support, encouragement, and example.
“Thank you again for this great honour and thank you to my colleagues, mentors, role models and family who have so enriched my life and my legal career.”
QLS President Jolly on announcing Dr de Groot as the President’s Medallist said, “he needs no introduction but I’ll do it anyway”.
“Dr de Groot had played a significant role in the profession both as a practitioner and educator, and gone above and beyond to uphold the core values of our profession,” Mr Jolly said.
“He served as President of the Queensland Law Society, chaired the Succession Law Committee and the Specialist Accreditation Advisory Committee, and has been recognised repeatedly as one of Queensland’s foremost lawyers in his field.
“The peer recognition you have received is a credit to you, your colleagues, family and the profession.”
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