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Lawyers score top positions on Honours list
Over barbecues and VB, Australia patted itself on the back yesterday. Amid the rumpus, an honours list congratulated individuals and a string of lawyers.
The New Lawyer
Over barbecues and VB, Australia patted itself on the back yesterday. Amid the rumpus, an honours list congratulated individuals and a string of lawyers.
BLAKE Dawson today congratulated two of its alumni for their positions on the list, one as Australian of the Year, and the other Senior Australian of the Year. Simon McKeon, who began his career as a lawyer in Blake Dawson's Sydney office in the early 1980s, was named the 2011 Australian of the Year. The accolade was awarded in honour of his long-term commitment to charitable causes. In addition to his career in investment banking, McKeon’s work for the community and indigenous youth encompasses roles on many boards and panels including World Vision, the Global Poverty Project, and Red Dust Role Models, which works with remote Indigenous communities, the firm said today. McKeon is a director of MS Research Australia after recently stepping down from his role of founding chairman. Professor Ron McCallum AO, who was named Senior Australian of the Year, joined Blake Dawson in 1994 as a consultant to the firm's employment practice. He later became special counsel to the group until 2000, before his appointment as Dean of Sydney University's Faculty of Law. Recognised for his efforts in pursuing equal rights for all people, McCallum was the first fully blind person to be appointed to a full professorship at any university in Australia or New Zealand. He was also the foundation Blake Dawson Waldron Professor in Industrial Law in the Faculty of Law at Sydney University. In 2008 McCallum was elected to United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Blake Dawson Chairman, Mary Padbury, said: "We're very proud of our alumni. They are very fine Australians who have made a wonderful contribution to our community." A full list of the legal professionals on the Australia Day honours list will be released by The New Lawyer tomorrow.
