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Jacob's admission makes four lawyers in Connop family

[by Stephen Hagan]

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Jacob Connop at his Darwin Supreme Court swearing in ceremony with brother Matthew (also a lawyer) and friend Les Huddleson who performed for Jacob as part of proceedings. Image: supplied

On 22 July 2025, in the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory, Jacob Connop took his oath and stepped into the profession of law. For Connop, a proud Dagoman man with ties to the Wardaman peoples, the moment was both solemn and deeply personal, a young prosecutor carrying with him the weight of family, history, and community.

 

Connop grew up in Palmerston, Northern Territory, where questions of justice first took hold of him. His father studied and practised law; his two elder brothers also each studied law and have gone on to build careers within the legal sector across Queensland and the Northern Territory. His mother nurtured the discipline of learning that became his foundation. In such a household, the law was never abstract. It was close, lived, and a way to contribute back.

 

Now, at 25, he prosecutes criminal cases for the NT Director of Public Prosecutions. The work is exacting, the stakes unforgiving. Yet Connop insists his admission is not a solitary achievement but part of a larger obligation. “Each of us must, in our own way, shoulder the work of giving back,” he said. “For me, the law was never an abstract discipline. It was a means of ensuring that Aboriginal voices are not merely acknowledged, but given their rightful place in the national conversation, heard with clarity, and respected with weight.”

 

His ambitions extend beyond the criminal courtroom. Connop intends to also move into Native Title and Land Rights, fields where law intersects directly with country and community. “Giving back is the very essence of why I chose this path,” he said. “For me, the law is a tool to fortify our communities and to see that future generations are afforded the same opportunities that I, through the efforts of those before me, have been privileged to receive.”

 

For his family, the achievement carries a singular resonance. To have a father and two brothers already in the law is to break through barriers rarely crossed by Aboriginal families. Connop’s admission adds another chapter to that legacy, proof that hard work and determination can transform personal milestones into collective  

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