Mr Game pointed out that 770 of the NSW's Bar's 2400-odd members were over the age of 60 and 217 were over 70 (201 of those are men).

"Others will surely reach the 50-year milestone so I expect the program will grow and develop as a model of collegiality and offer senior members opportunities to share their knowledge and experience, grow their network of friends and broaden their contribution to the profession and to public life."

Mr Game presented certificates of service to Dr Bennett, Lionel Robberds, QC, and Michael Robinson. A fourth recipient, John Gleeson, QC, had a family commitment.

Mr Robinson, 83, is the longest-serving of the group. He joined the bar in 1959 and this year marks his 60th year. Mr Robberds, 80, and Mr Gleeson, 79, have been at the bar since 1966. Dr Bennett, 77, joined in 1967.

Mr Robberds still goes into work every day at Frederick Jordan chambers.

"I always wanted to be a barrister," he says. "At some stage I probably will [want to do something else], but not yet."

He says the program "gets lot of bonus points" for the way it seeks to use the skills of old members.

Mr Robinson says he still has a busy practice, which is focused on helping people with issues around their legal costs. He says "60 years makes it a very long time" for one job, but is not considering retirement any time soon: "No, I'm not. It's not compulsory."


Dr Bennett, who was the Commonwealth government's chief legal adviser from 1998-2008, also remains active but says he is "winding down". He is still with 5 Wentworth chambers, but mainly works from home.

He told the gathering the association should consider relaxing its "cab rank" rule – barristers must accept any brief offered if it is within their expertise – for "experienced" members. "Perhaps there should be an exception."

He jokes that while he is "doing less and less", his wife –retired Federal Court judge Annabelle Bennett – is "doing more and more". She has multiple board positions, is chancellor of Bond University and is in Geneva this week for the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Dr Bennett says his "energy levels are not as high" these days, but he recently took a brief in Fiji for a case on religious freedom. He was acting for a Seventh Day Adventist school that only wanted to appoint a member of the faith as headmaster.

There is one other move the bar could make in deference to its older members, Dr Bennett says.

"At bar functions, all they serve before dinner is wine or champagne, but older members might like a whisky."