Spigelman retirement opens wide field of contenders

NSW Chief Justice Jim Spigelman wraps-up on May 31 ... Personal refreshment ... "Diverse range of tasks" awaits ... Who's next? ... Judges' associate Ginger Snatch reports on possible candidates

The news was on the street for a good 48 hours before the announcement from the Spigeltent that the chief justice was bowing out after 13 years running the big justice shop at Queens Square.

The missive from the Supreme Court came on Michael Kirby's 73 birthday and the day before Marcus Einfeld is released from Silverwater jail.

Clearly, the planets have lined-up propitiously for the release of this news.

His timing could not have been better. It's a signal that he didn't want the dross that passes for a Labor government to appoint his successor.

The CJ's resignation takes effect on May 31, six days after his 13th anniversary in the saddle. He said in a tight one page statement:

"I leave with the same level of commitment and enthusiasm I brought to the job in 1998.

However, I believe that any organisation needs refreshing, and after 13 years, it also seems an appropriate time for me to personally and professionally refresh myself...

[I intend] to gather a small portfolio of different roles upon retirement from the court.

In my swearing-in speech, I announced that I was dedicating my life to the law to a degree that I have hitherto managed to avoid. Now, I look forward to dedicating my life to a more diverse range of tasks."

All well and good. A life of mediating, writing the history of the middle ages, a bit of teaching in England, travel and recumbency beckons.

Spiggs has been looking a big rumbled and cheesed-off in recent times, probably since he missed out on the top job at the High Court in 2008.

He had a hip replacement over the New Year break and five more years before compulsory retirement was just too long a confinement.

Who's next?

So many names are in the mix that the possibilities for distraction are amazing.

The usual suspects are: Jim Allsop, Peter McClellan and Bret Walker.

Incoming Attorney General Greg Smith is a devoted Right to Lifer and Thomas More enthusiast. A nice Catholic lawyer would not be overlooked for the task.

Justice Paddy Bergin  is a Catholic and a woman and so too is Margaret Beazley and both would be in contention, as would Arthur Moses who might be NSW's first Lebanese CJ. Arthur has done work for the Libs (as well as for former Labor AG, Jeff Shaw).

Another Arthur who is far from an outsider is Federal Court judge Arthur Emmett. Strong credentials and conservative.

His brother-in-law Sandy Street is firming trackside and he has the advantage of having three former generations of chief justice DNA in his blood.

Further bright suggestions and insights are welcome.

Read official announcement