The man set to become the Northern Territory's first Aboriginal judge will be the role model that young people need in the court system, according to his former employer.
David Woodroffe has been a legal officer with the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency for more than a decade.
He will be sworn in as an acting judge at the local court in Darwin on July 25.
Colleen Rosas, the agency's chairperson, told the ABC that Aboriginal people are so proud of him at the moment.
I have tears in my eyes because we've said this for so long and we've said we should have our own people judge us, people who know where we're coming from.
He is a descendant of the Jingili Modburra clan group and his grandmother Elsie and father Ronald were Stolen Generations members.
He's been impacted by a lot of those policies, a lot of us have been, said Ms Rosas.
That's what gives you the fire in the belly.
David's got it, he's got it in the heart, he's been there and done all that hard work. Woodroffe studied law in Darwin and has previously described what motivated him to pursue it as a career.
He said that I wanted to study law for family so that injustices such as the Stolen Generations would never happen to Aboriginal people and my family.
In 2016 during the Northern Territory youth detention royal commission, Mr Woodroffe led NAAJA's response.
Ms Rosas said she was not the only person to shed tears at a NAIDOC event in Darwin this week.
We've got it, we've got this black judge up there — it's just a wonderful thing to be happening, Ms Rosas said.
Aboriginal people make up about 30 per cent of the territory's population, and many people don't speak English as a first language.
Ms Rosas, who set up the NT's Aboriginal Interpreter Service, said that Mr Woodroffe has provided legal training to local interpreters and has a deep understanding of their importance.
She said he is going to be a valuable asset to our court services.
He's so calm, you can sit down and talk to him, he hasn't got a nasty bone in his body. She said that Mr Woodroffe's appointment would hopefully open the door for others.
Ms Rosas said that he has already inspired many young Aboriginal people to pursue legal careers during his time at NAAJA.
That respect is a big thing, and that's what I think is missing at the moment.