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Judicial appointments to Victoria’s Magistrates’ Court
The Victorian government has appointed four new legal professionals as judges to the state’s Magistrates’ Court, each bringing extensive experience to the roles.
Naomi Neilson
Victorian Attorney-General Jill Hennessy has welcomed the four judicial appointments, praising Alexandra Burt, Guillaume Bailin, Kimberley Swadesir and Melissa Stead over their extensive, strong and diverse experience across practice areas and regions.
“The experience Ms Burt, Mr Bailin, Ms Swadesir and Ms Stead will bring to their roles is not only extensive but covers a wide range of jurisdictions and functions across the Victorian legal sector,” Ms Hennessy said. “I congratulate the appointees – Magistrates’ Court will greatly benefit from their expertise and sound knowledge of the law.”
Ms Burt has extensive experience across criminal and administrative law and has held positions at the Office of the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions and with the Victoria Legal Aid, where she worked in a variety of jurisdictions. She was admitted in 2005 and holds a bachelor of arts and a bachelor of laws with honours.
Since 2015, Mr Bailin has worked for Victoria Legal Aid, most recently as the services acting program manager for indictable crime. He has also held positions at the County Court of Victoria and the Office of Public Prosecutions.
Mr Bailin is also the founder and president of a Prison Legal Education and Assistance project and has held leadership positions with the Law Institute of Victoria (LIV). In 2010 he was admitted as a lawyer and has held a variety of senior positions since.
With over 20 years of experience, Ms Swadesir has worked across the justice system and since 2002 has been a solicitor at the Office of Public Prosecutions. Most recently, Ms Swadesir held the position of managing principal solicitor of the Geelong branch.
On top of her experience across the Magistrates, County, Children’s, Coroners and in Supreme Courts, Ms Swadesir acted as a mentor where she provided many valuable insights and knowledge to the next generation of Victorian solicitors.
Between 2016 to 2019, Ms Stead was the honorary president of Children’s Court Bar Association where she worked collaboratively with the court in the area of professional development and providing the bar’s perspective on issues relevant to the jurisdiction.
Naomi Neilson
Naomi Neilson is a senior journalist with a focus on court reporting for Lawyers Weekly.
You can email Naomi at:
