New Appointments for Federal Court, Federal Circuit Court and Federal Court Registrar
Monday 9 November 2015 @ 11.02 a.m. | Legal Research
Attorney-General George Brandis has recently announced (29 October 2015) five new appointments to the Federal Court and Federal Circuit Court, as well as the re-appointment of the Federal Court Registrar.
Federal Court Appointment
According to the Attorney-General's Media Release of 29 October 2015, Mr Mark Kranz Moshinsky QC will fill the vacancy left in the Melbourne registry of the Federal Court following the appointment of the Hon Justice Michelle Gordon to the High Court of Australia. His appointment commenced on 2 November 2015.
Mr Moshinsky graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws (First Class Honours) in 1988 and the University of Oxford with a Bachelor of Civil Law (First Class Honours) in 1991. He was enrolled as a legal practitioner in the Supreme Court of Victoria in 1992 and signed the Victorian Bar Roll in 1995. Mr Moshinsky was appointed Senior Counsel in 2007 and Queens’ Counsel in 2014. Mr Moshinsky commenced as an article clerk, then solicitor with Arthur Robinson & Hedderwicks (now Allens) in 1989. He was an independent lecturer with the Law School in the University of Melbourne, a reporter for the Commonwealth Law Reports and a Senior Fellow of the Melbourne Law School.
Federal Circuit Court Appointments
According to the Attorney-General's Media Release of 29 October 2015, the following four experienced barristers have been appointed as judges of the Federal Circuit Court:
- Dr Joshua Douglas Wilson QC, commenced in the Melbourne registry on 2 November 2015;
- Mr Timothy James Heffernan, commencing in the Adelaide registry on 23 November 2015;
- Mr Steven Charles Arnold Middleton, commencing in the Newcastle registry today 9 November 2015; and
- Mr Philip Dowdy, commencing in the Sydney registry on 7 December 2015.
According to the Attorney-General:
"These appointees bring to the Bench a wealth of experience across a wide range of expertise and will significantly strengthen the Federal Circuit Court."
Dr Wilson and Messrs Heffernan, Middleton and Dowdy will fill the vacancies left by the resignations and retirements of, Judge Jeffrey Turner, Judge Stuart Lindsay, Judge Giles Coakes and Judge Michael Lloyd?Jones respectively.
In a statement reprinted by Lawyers Weekly, Australian Women Laywers (AWL) "noted with concern that all new appointees were male and one, Mark Kranz Moshinsky QC, will replace a female judge, the Honourable Justice Michelle Gordon." AWL president Elspeth Hensler commented:
"When more than half the law graduates are women and almost half the solicitors practising in Australia are women, what has happened to gender equity?"
Re-Appointment of Federal Court Registrar
According to a second media release from the Attorney-General on 29 October 2015, the Federal Court Registrar, Mr Warwick Graeme Soden OAM, has been reappointed as the Registrar of the Federal Court for a further five years. According to the Attorney-General:
"Mr Soden’s strong leadership will be a continuing asset to the Federal Court, with his proven record in sound financial management pivotal to the delivery of the proposed shared corporate services for the Federal Court, Family Court of Australia and Federal Circuit Court from 1 July 2016."
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Sources:
Attorney General Media Release - Federal Court and Federal Circuit Court - 29 October 2015
Attorney General Media Release - Re-Appointment of Federal Registrar - 29 October 2015
