The New South Wales Bar Association has expressed concern that members of the judiciary have received death threats in the wake of this week's siege in Sydney.

Gunman Man Haron Monis held 17 hostages for 16 hours earlier this week in a siege at the Martin Place Lindt Chocolate Cafe that ended with the deaths of cafe manager Tori Johnson, barrister Katrina Dawson and Monis himself.

Monis, an Iranian-born cleric, was out on bail for a string of violent offences, including being an accessory to the murder of his ex-wife.

The magistrate who released Monis and lawyers who previously represented him have been subjected to personal attacks.

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New South Wales Bar Association president Jane Needham said the community's reaction was "understandable but wrong-headed" and that making death threats and asking for judges to be stood down was inappropriate.

"The jobs of the judiciary are very difficult, they're very complex and magistrates in particular deal with many cases which come before them and they have to make their decisions on the basis of what is before them at the time and the operation of the law," Ms Needham told AM.

"Given that most magistrates and most bail decisions are clearly right because people do turn up for their trials, I think the better reaction is to support the judiciary and look at the wider system of the granting of bail at a time when all of the information is in.

"As to the lawyers, it's very important to remember that lawyers are just doing their job.

"Barristers in particular have an ethical obligation to appear for whoever seeks their services within their expertise. That's known as the cab rank rule.

"To make death threats, as has been done against members of the profession for doing a job is, I think [is] really an unfortunate reaction."

Ms Needham said members of the Bar Association had been personally shaken by the Martin Place siege, particularly by the loss of Ms Dawson.

"There is a lot of distress. The Lindt cafe was a centre of people's lives here and there is a real feeling additional to the grief and shock and fear of it could have been anyone," she said.

"In saying that, it was Katrina and Katrina was a very much valued member of our bar.

"I've made a statement earlier this week saying how much she was loved and valued and how much she will be missed."

Ms Needham would not be drawn on the particular circumstances of Monis's bail or reports he had been on a terror watchlist at some point because she did not want to comment in "a vacuum or a vacuum informed by press reports".