On Tuesday morning, Chief Justice Bathurst presided over the NSW Supreme Court's first "virtual admissions ceremony", a "Pandemic Special" to welcome lawyers formally admitted to the profession on August 14.

"Young lawyers just like you were admitted even during the midst of the Spanish flu and world wars," he said.

The chief justice was joined – at an appropriate social distance – in the ceremonial Banco Court in Sydney by five senior judges of the court, including Court of Appeal President Andrew Bell.

"Despite the [coronavirus] crisis, the rule of law has not been suspended", he said, and human rights were at their most vulnerable in times of crisis. He urged new lawyers to use their legal skills for the public good.

Chief Justice Bathurst noted the wide-reaching effects of the pandemic on the legal profession, including the rapid shift to remote hearings, and joked that, in online courts, dining tables were "the new bar tables" and family dogs the new "court security".

But he also reflected solemnly on Indigenous over-representation in custody and the need for greater diversity in the legal profession.

"I recognise the failure of our laws for many decades to recognise the cultural heritage and rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and the dispossession and disempowerment this has caused," he said.

The Black Lives Matter movement had "brought the racism, inequality and abuses of power that have haunted our nation for so long to the forefront of public consciousness" and exposed the fact our "criminal justice system remains a tool of injustice for Indigenous Australians who are one of the most incarcerated people in the world".

The profession faced other challenges, including sexual harassment and systemic barriers that worked against diversity and the inclusion of women in the profession.

"No one ... should be left out or behind from pursuing a career in the law," he said. "The Black Lives Matter and Me Too movements present a challenge for our profession to ensure that calls for change do not pass without systemic reforms."

Chief Justice Bathurst also spoke of the importance of mental health and urged young lawyers to seek professional help and the support of family and friends whenever the need arose.

New lawyers might be working at home, but "you are not working alone", he said.