commenced his first job at a law firm in Sydney.
Local resident Geoffrey Langford, who has operated his own law practice in Cobar since 1984, this week celebrated a 50 year milestone in his career, when he began his “apprenticeship” as an Articled Clerk.
Geoffrey said 50 years later, law has become a very different profession to what he entered.
“It’s changed dramatically, I think when I was admitted there were about 8,000 solicitors in NSW now I think it’s something like 38,000.
“It was a profession in which there were no corporates, they were all individual owners of their businesses in partnerships.”
He said back when he started working in the profession the bigger law firms only had a maximum of 20 partners.
“Then it went to 50 partners and in the last 30 odd years, we got the very big firms, international firms, huge things.
“So the sole practitioner, such as what I have been since 1984, is a thing of the past.”
He said the system of training to become a solicitor has also changed and the Article Clerk system he trained under 50 years ago has been abolished.
“A new training system called College of Law was introduced.
“We worked on the streets and did our stuff on the floor,” he said.
Geoffrey began working as an Articled Clerk on March 6, 1973 after completing his law degree at Sydney University.
“I did two degrees—I did Arts first (I was still 17 when I left school and you had to be 18 to do Law), so I did Arts first and then I did a Law degree,” Geoffrey told The Cobar Weekly.
“The first job I landed was with Conway, McCullum & Co and I was articled to Michael McKelvey.”
Geoffrey explained that as an apprentice, essentially what he did was to follow a master solicitor or lawyer from the firm.
“You learned about serving summons, and I had my first visit to Long Bay with a solicitor to interview a prisoner.
“We did title searches and slowly graduated to be in the room when the boss was interviewing someone and so you learned how to do those practical aspects.”
“I fondly remember my first day. I was 24.
“I arrived early in my new suit and with my new briefcase on my arm and I was welcomed by the boss’ secretary Mrs Locke.
“She took me down to the Article Clerks room and there I met Mr Alpa and Mr Woodward—they were all Misters in those days.
“They were Clerks at the firm, ex service men, and older men.”
He recalls all the Articled Clerks were summoned by Mr Woodward, the Senior Clerk, and he went along with the other four “boys” and they were all lined up.
“Then he roared the living daylights out of us,” Geoffrey said.
“A mistake in a title search had been made the previous Friday by one of the clerks and he had picked it up.”
Mr Woodward kept on roaring before Mrs Locke leant in to mention that Geoffrey had only started that morning.
“Then he said, ‘Oh Mr Langford, welcome to the firm. Sorry we had to meet like this but I’m sure if you’d been here on Friday you’d have made the same mistake!’
“At that stage I should have taken the cue shouldn’t I?” Geoffrey joked.
He however stuck around, earnt his practicing certificate and was admitted as a Solicitor on June 5, 1974.
Late in 1974, he went to work with Flashman & Co in Nyngan and then spent three years working with a firm in Tenterfield.
“I thoroughly enjoyed that,” he said.
“Then I went to W Armstrong & Co in Bourke and then at the end of 1983, I decided I’d come back here.”
He recalls Allan and Lilliane Brady encouraged him to come and open a practice in Cobar.
Geoffrey’s father was also ill and he decided to return home to his family in March 1984.
Geoffrey’s father died later that year and, as well as working in his new practice, he also took over the running of the family property.
His law work over the past 50 years has consisted mainly of conveyancing, sales, general practice and some criminal law.
“I do keep out of Family Law as it’s very difficult when you’re in a country town.”
He also did Legal Aid work for a number of years in Cobar, Nyngan, Bourke and Brewarrina.
He said one of the biggest and most challenging changes he’s seen in his time is the introduction of computers and changes to banking practices.
“It was daunting because procedures that you had been doing for years and years have been changed, and those programs haven’t been written buy the people that use them.
“Your obligations are the same.
“Law generally reflects society. You may not always agree with what the laws are, but essentially laws are designed to agree with society and the services of society.”
He said one thing that hasn’t changed is that NSW has always been ahead of the USA in litigations.
“I’m not kidding, it has had the name of that for years,” Geoffrey said.
And his plans for the future?
“I’m 75, so it’s about time I took it a little bit easier. At the moment I’m working four days a week. I’m not ready to go yet and I don’t particularly want to go yet.
“And I don’t want to leave Cobar,” he said
