Allsop CJ appointed Companion of the Order of Australia
Last week’s 2023 Australia Day Honours List named Federal Court Chief Justice James Allsop as a Companion of the Order of Australia, with numerous other legal professionals being recognised for their contributions.
Chief Justice Allsop (pictured) has been appointed AC in this year’s Australia Day Honours List, for eminent service to the judiciary and to the law, to organisational and technological reform, to legal education, and to insolvency law.
Allsop CJ, who was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2013, has been the chief justice of the Federal Court since the same year, and also serves as the president of the Francis Forbes Society for Australian Legal History, and is the chair of the Judicial Liaison Committee for the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration.
This year’s recipients, Governor-General David Hurley said, “have had a significant impact at the local, national and international level and are, quite simply, inspiring”.
“They go above and beyond, are from all over the country, and contribute every day in every way imaginable. These are the people who see us through good times and bad. They’re the first to show up and the last to leave.”
“They’re almost always humble to a fault but I urge recipients, for today, to put aside that humility; it’s important they know how much they are valued,” he submitted.
Other legal professionals who were recognised in this year’s Honours List include:
- Justice Emilios Kyrou, Victorian Court of Appeal (AO);
- Dr Francis Gurry, former director general of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (AO);
- Professor Jill McKeough, former dean, University of Technology, Sydney, Faculty of Law (AO);
- Thomas Mollenkopf, former head of legal, Australian Airlines (AO);
- Professor Ian Ramsay, former dean, Melbourne Law School (AO);
- Retired Justice Pamela Tate, Victorian Court of Appeal (Member of the Order of Australia) (AM);
- Judge Kate Hawkins, County Court of Victoria (AM);
- Judge Rauf Suolio, South Australian District Court (AM);
- Professor Jennifer Burn, director, Anti-Slavery Australia (AM);
- Rodney Lewis, foundation co-director, Centre for Elder Law, Western Sydney University (AM);
- Dr David Denton KC, former president, Commercial Bar Association of Victoria (AM);
- Joanne Muller, former deputy state commissioner, Girl Guides NSW, ACT and NT (AM);
- Nicola Evans, chair, 30% Club Australia (AM);
- Michael Walsh, former commissioner, Supreme Court of Tasmania (AM);
- Donald Aitken, chair, H.V.McKay Charitable Trust (Medal of the Order of Australia) (OAM);
- Judge Christopher Bowrey, Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (OAM);
- Diarmid Davine, former chair, Leases Committee, Law Institute of Victoria (OAM);
- Sarah Jefford, director, Surrogacy and Donor Conception Legal Services (OAM);
- Jonathon Leek, former partner, Deloitte Legal (OAM);
- Ellen Louie, chair, Australian Nursing Home Foundation (OAM);
- Ronald Frederick, former president, Rotary Club of Mitcham (OAM);
- Rodney Halstead, governor and director, The Heart Research Institute (OAM);
- Vicki Jackson, former president, Central Queensland Law Association (OAM);
- Mary McComish, former dean, University of Notre Dame, School of Law (OAM);
- Mary Martin, former CEO, Aboriginal Family Legal Services WA (OAM);
- Professor Ngaire Naffine, emerita professor of law, University of Adelaide (OAM);
- Sam Tatarka, barrister and chair, Beth Weizmann Jewish Community Centre (OAM);
- Stuart Tipple, former member of Chamberlain legal defence team (OAM); and
- Rozanna Zalewski, former chair, Melba Opera Trust (OAM),
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Jerome Doraisamy
Jerome Doraisamy is the editor of Lawyers Weekly. A former lawyer, he has worked at Momentum Media as a journalist on Lawyers Weekly since February 2018, and has served as editor since March 2022. He is also the host of all five shows under The Lawyers Weekly Podcast Network, and has overseen the brand's audio medium growth from 4,000 downloads per month to over 60,000 downloads per month, making The Lawyers Weekly Show the most popular industry-specific podcast in Australia. Jerome is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in NSW, and a board director of Minds Count.
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