Justice Rares graduated in Arts and Law from the University of Sydney and after two years working in a solicitors’ firm he was called to the New South Wales Bar in 1980. He was appointed a Senior Counsel in 1993. In 2004 and 2005 he was a member of the Judicial Commission of New South Wales.

Justice Rares is currently the National convening judge and New South Wales registry convening judge for the Admiralty and Maritime Panel and a member of the Comité Maritime International’s International Working Group on Offshore Activities. He is also the Chairman of the Consultative Council for Australian Law Reporting. He is the vice-president of the Judicial Conference of Australia, a member of the Board of Management of the Council of the Australasian Institute of Judicial Administration and a member of the National Judicial Orientation Program Steering Committee.