Executive Corporate Counsel
Blacktown City Council
Past President of The Law Society of NSW

I currently hold the position of Executive Corporate Counsel, Blacktown City Council. That is, I am the Council’s in-house lawyer.

At the beginning of my career I worked in the private sector as a solicitor for a large firm and a small firm working mostly in the commercial property field. I completed a master’s in law at Sydney University where I also completed a Masters in French.

I have been a long-standing Councillor and Director on the Law Society of NSW, elected to that position by my solicitor colleagues in NSW. There are 26,000 solicitor’s in NSW, I was the Chairperson of the Law Society’s Property Law Committee for 8 years. I was President (Batonnier) of the Law Society in 2010, elected to that position by my fellow Councillors.

I was awarded the Legion of Honour in 2011 in Noumea for efforts in promoting harmonious relations between the law “societies” of Paris, Noumea and Sydney.

I am admitted to practice in New South Wales and in England and Wales. I am a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD). I am pursing studies as a Trustee Director with Super Members Council of Australia. I am a member of the Women Lawyers Association of NSW and The Law Society of NSW. I am a director of Legalsuper. I am Treasurer of WIRES. I sat on the Union Internationale des Avocats (UIA) Governing Board as the Representative for Australia for 8 years. I have been a Director of the Australian Weightlifting Federation, an official Olympic Sport. As a result of being a Director of the AWF (which is in the “Olympic Family” of Sports) I have endeavoured to cultivate networks in the Oceanic Region.

My aspirations are to continue to build relationships between organisations such as the French Ordre des Avocats de Paris, le Barreau de Noumea and The Law Society of NSW with a view to promoting mutual exchanges, support networks and internships. I seek to facilitate and promote the development of useful networks between lawyers in francophone countries and Australia.

Ph: 0427 365 978
E: mary.macken@blacktown.nsw.gov.au