In 1875, Way was elected to the South Australian House of Assembly as the member for Sturt, and on 3 June of that year joined the Boucaut government as Attorney-General of South Australia. He was only a politician for a short time, however, since in March 1876, at the age of just thirty-nine, he was appointed Chief Justice of South Australia following the death of Richard Hanson on 4 March. Since it is the role of the Attorney-General to recommend judicial candidates to the cabinet, it has been suggested that Way probably nominated himself to be Chief Justice. Way soon gained a reputation as an excellent lawyer, and it has been said that none of his decisions were ever successfully appealed to a higher court. Later in 1876 he was appointed as the vice-chancellor of the University of Adelaide, and in 1883 became the chancellor, a position he would hold until his death.