Anderson Lloyd partner Frazer Barton, of Dunedin, was named the society’s 33rd president after its council unanimously endorsed him at a meeting last week.
There has only ever been one other South Island president - Austin Forbes KC in 1993-96 - and coincidentally, Mr Barton (62), as a young law graduate, worked with Mr Forbes in Christchurch.
Mr Barton, who heads Anderson Lloyd’s litigation team, was one of only two South Island names featured in a recent New Zealand Lawyer magazinelist of the country’s most influential lawyers.
Admitted to the bar in January 1985 after completing a first-class honours degree in law from the University of Otago, specialising in public law, he has appeared at all levels of the law, from District Court to the Privy Council in London.
Yesterday, Mr Barton said he felt both honoured and privileged to have been elected president, acknowledging that it was a weighty responsibility.
The society had 16,000 members and, at times, there were 16,000 different opinions.
Along with access to justice, diversity was also important to Mr Barton, who said the profession reflected its society "and we don’t do that very well at the moment".
Mr Barton’s role was both governance and ambassadorial.
The society had 160 staff and he envisaged splitting his time equally between his presidential role and his practice in Dunedin.
"I feel energised and it’s exciting.
"I’ve been really fortunate I’ve had a great career and I’ve been lucky to be in the right place at the right time.
"It’s my responsibility, I think, to give back," he said.
Mr Barton’s position as South Island vice-president has been taken by fellow Dunedin lawyer Taryn Gudmanz.
He would serve as president for the remainder of this term, which ended in April next year.
