The Australian Women's Register

Summary

Jean Malor has the distinction of having been the first female student to graduate from the University of Sydney with first-class honours in Law. Although admitted to practise in 1937, Malor rejected going to the New South Wales Bar in favour of a career with the Law Book Company of Australasia Pty Ltd. (This may have been because her brother, Ronald, soon to be killed in the Second World War, was already a promising junior at the Bar). With the outbreak of war, she became honorary secretary of the Law School Comforts Fund. Malor remained at the Law Book Company until she was 60, rising to become senior legal advisor and senior editor and highly regarded for her knowledge and proficiency. In 1973, she was appointed chairwoman of the Commonwealth Computerisation of Legal Data Committee, one of a number of committees and professional organisations to which she gave much of her time and expertise over many years. Retained by Butterworths Pty Ltd in 1977, she was editor responsible for The Australian Current Law Digest and Commonwealth Statutes Annotations. She continued to work until she was in her 80s. On 3 June 1978, Malor’s prodigious legal knowledge and lifelong dedication as an editor were recognised when she was awarded an OBE for her services to the legal profession.