He's the first in his family to even think of the law as a career option, but the Barraba boy has been backed by a Tamworth law firm to go far.

Mr Bomford is this year's winner of the prestigious Everingham Solomons bursary.

"When I was really young, in primary school my old man had to testify as a witness. It was a civil dispute or something. We come from a farming and fencing contracting background," he said.

"He was just a fencer. I think it might have been a deceased estate. He was just told to put a fence up that one party didn't like.

"He found himself at the NSW Supreme Court having to give evidence saying, 'I'm just the fencing contractor!'

"He came back talking about it. He said Riley I think that would be a career you'd be interested in."

Mr Bomford has never forgotten the awe of justice he felt that day.

He's since taken up work at the Tamworth and then Armidale court officers and has recently finished his first trimester at the University of New England.

"Part of the reason I want to be a lawyer when you see someone who's good at their craft at the bar table, it's inspiring," he said.

He will soon be back in Tamworth learning the practical side of law. The Sir Adrian Solomons Memorial Law Bursary includes two weeks of paid work experience each year, and a donation to Calrossy Anglican School.

Everingham Solomons director Clint Coles said it was the practical element that was most important of all.

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"They get a taste for the actual practicalities of the job and that sort of thing," he said.

"You're learning something really in abstract and you can't really picture how and where you're going to apply it in the workplace.

"We're trying to link the academic study to the practicality of it and give people a little bit of an idea about what they're going to do in the future."

"I've got every confidence that Riley's career will be just as impressive as any of his predecessors, he's a fantastically impressive young bloke; very, very smart; very, very well-rounded and a good fellow to boot," Mr Coles said.

"Good to talk to, likeable, personable, generous, community-minded, ticks all the boxes."

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