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4 judges added to Victoria’s County Court
Victoria’s Attorney-General has confirmed four new judges will take to the state’s County Court in a bid to ease current backlog challenges.
Emma Musgrave
Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes has announced Sharon Burchell, Marcus Dempsey, Anna Robertson and Pardeep Tiwana have been appointed to the County Court of Victoria. Meanwhile, David Ryan has been appointed to the Coroners Court.
“Our four new judges and coroner are experts in their fields and will bring significant knowledge to cases before the Coroners Court and County Court. I congratulate them on their new roles,” Ms Symes said.
“We’re investing strongly and working with the courts to help drive down the backlogs caused by the pandemic – making sure more people can have their cases heard faster.
“I’d like to thank retiring Judge Susan Pullen, Judge Rachelle Lewitan, Judge Kathryn Kings and Judge Christopher Ryan for their service to the Court and the community.”
As per a statement provided by the Attorney-General’s office, Ms Burchell’s appointment as a County Court judge “follows a career as a barrister, including experience in the Victorian Bar, Western Australian Bar and in the Federal and High Courts of Australia”.
Mr Dempsey is described as an expert in criminal law. He joins the County Court after serving on the Victorian Bar and as a senior public defender at Victoria Legal Aid.
The same statement noted that Ms Robertson “has a wealth of experience to bring to the role of County Court judge following her work as a solicitor at Coadys Solicitors, a paralegal at Norton Rose in London and holds a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Laws from Monash University”.
Meanwhile, Mr Tiwana was previously a law clerk and solicitor at Paul Vale Criminal Lawyers and a criminal barrister at 4 Fountain Court Chambers/Citadel Chambers in the UK, the statement said, adding that he was admitted to the England and Wales Bar in 1994 and signed the Victorian Bar Roll in 2009.
Meanwhile, taking to the Coroners Court, Mr Ryan was a judicial registrar of the Federal Court of Australia and held “various longstanding positions at the Victorian Government Solicitor’s Office, including in the role of managing principal solicitor,” the statement read.
Emma Musgrave
Emma Musgrave (née Ryan) is the managing editor, professional services at Momentum Media.
Emma has worked for Momentum Media since 2015, including five years spent as the editor of the company's legal brand - Lawyers Weekly. Throughout her time at Momentum, she has been responsible for breaking some of the biggest stories in corporate Australia. In addition, she has produced exclusive multimedia and event content related to the company's respective brands and audiences.
Prior to joining Momentum Media, Emma worked in breakfast radio, delivering news to the Central West region of NSW, before taking on a radio journalist role at Southern Cross Austereo, based in Townsville, North Queensland.
She holds a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) degree from Charles Sturt University.
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