The Australian Women's Register

Judy Hogg has had a lifelong concern for the socially disadvantaged leading to her interest in law and political reform, and her involvement in the women’s movement in Victoria where she was a founding Member of the Kew Women’s Liberation Group. She returned to university after having children and was fortunate to graduate from Law School as the Family Law Act came into operation in 1976. As she had written a thesis on this legislation, she was placed in a strong position for entering the work force in that jurisdiction.

After working for several law firms, both large and small, and for Legal Aid, Hogg started her own firm in 1985. She invited her friend Janet Reid to join her and they formed Hogg and Reid (which amalgamated as Carew Counsel incorporating Hogg and Reid in 2013). The prime focus was Family Law which was dealt with in a non-sexist manner. Her philosophy was to ensure that the law was available to redress imbalances of power.

Hogg has always contributed beyond her professional role, and has served in a voluntary capacity on many committees and boards of management, including those of

• Fitzroy Legal Service
• Parents anonymous
• Twin Care
• Domestic Violence Committee, Rotary

Go to ‘Details’ below to read an essay written by Judy Hogg for the Trailblazing Women and the Law Project.

Born in Brisbane, Kate Auty was educated, and has worked, all over Australia. The former Victorian Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability, she is now an academic who continues to work as a barrister.

Auty was the inaugural Koori Court magistrate (Victoria) and Aboriginal sentencing court magistrate in the goldfields and western desert (WA). She has been a Mining Warden (WA). She was also a senior solicitor for the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (Vic, Tas., WA).

Other diverse roles have involved developing justice e-technology in remote and regional settings, and chairing the Ministerial Council on Climate Change Adaptation (Victoria). Auty’s board memberships extend to having chaired the National Rural Law and Justice Alliance. She presently chairs the Boards of NeCTAR, the Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute at the University of Melbourne and a La Trobe Research Focus Area. She is a member of the advisory boards of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority Advisory Committee on Social, Economic and Environmental Sciences, the University of Melbourne Community and Industry Board for the Office of Environmental Programs and the Australian Urban Research Infrastructure Network.

Go to ‘Details’ below to read a reflective essay written by Kate Auty for the Trailblazing Women and the Law Project.

Katherine Sampson is the Managing Director of Mahlab Recruitment (Vic) Pty Ltd. In addition to partner and senior level search, she advises clients on mergers, strategic partner selection, law firm management and legal department structures and often speaks at industry conferences and seminars.

Katherine serves on a number of boards and committees in both legal and non-legal spheres. In May 2014 she was appointed as a trustee director of industry superannuation fund CareSuper.

Other extra curricular roles have included executive committee member of Australian Corporate Lawyers Association (ACLA), board member of Craft Victoria (1995 to 1997), Deputy Chair of the Walter & Eliza Hall Institute Ethics Committee (1991 to 2002), board member of the Melbourne International Arts Festival (1998 to 2004) , Deputy Chair of The Australian Press Council (2002-2011) and, until recently, board member of the Monash Law School Foundation.

Katherine undertook the Williamson Community Leadership program (Leadership Victoria) in 1996. She was a participant in the 2020 Summit, Governance section.

She joined Mahlab Recruitment in 1985 after a career in law at (the then) Corr & Corr. She holds a Bachelor of Arts with Honours and a Bachelor of Laws from Monash University and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) and the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST).

Laura Vickers is the founder of Nest Legal, Australia’s first online after-hours law firm. She graduated from the University of Melbourne in 2006 with first class honours in law and since then has practised law in everything from conveyances to High Court appeals.

Vickers has worked as a Principal Solicitor with the Victorian Government Solicitor’s Office, where she represented the State of Victoria in the constitutional challenge to chaplains in schools and was the legal advisor to the Victorian Floods Review, assisting former Chief Commissioner Neil Comrie AO, APM. She has also worked for top 20 firm Maddocks and local Clifton Hill law firm Elliott Stafford & Associates, taught undergraduate law at La Trobe University, chaired the Constitutional and Administrative Review Committee at the Law Institute of Victoria and volunteered with the Fitzroy Legal Service.

Go to ‘Details’ below to read an essay written by Laura Vickers for the Trailblazing Women and the Law Project.

Justice Margaret McMurdo AC is the President of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Queensland. She was the first woman appointed as the presiding judge of an appellate court in Australia.

McMurdo was born in 1954 in Brisbane, the youngest of six children born to Gina, a homemaker, and Joe, a commercial law solicitor and ultimately senior partner at Thynne & Macartney. She attended New Farm State School and Brisbane Girls Grammar School (1967 – 1971) before studying law at the University of Queensland. During her university years, she volunteered at the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service. She graduated with a Bachelor of Laws in 1975.

On 16 December 1976, McMurdo was admitted as a barrister of the Supreme Court of Queensland. She worked in the Public Defender’s Office (1976-89), holding the office of assistant public defender (1978-89). McMurdo then practised at the private bar in Brisbane (1989-91), holding a commission to prosecute. She was a part-time member of the Criminal Justice Commission Misconduct Tribunal (1990-91). McMurdo was a founding committee member (1978-82) and then president (1980-81) of the Women Lawyers Association and a founding member of the Department of Children’s Services Serious Offenders Review Panel (1978-83). McMurdo was appointed a judge of the District Court of Queensland on 29 January 1991, being the first woman to be appointed to the court. She also served as a judge of the Children’s Court of Queensland from 1993.

On 30 July 1998, McMurdo was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland and the second president of the Court of Appeal. She was the first woman appointed as the presiding judge of an appellate court in Australia. McMurdo was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia in 2007 and awarded the Centenary Medal in 2003. She was awarded the Queensland Law Society’s Agnes McWhinney Award in 2006. She was awarded the degree of Doctor of the University by Griffith University (2000) and by the Queensland University of Technology (2009). McMurdo was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Laws of the University of Queensland (2012). She has also served as a trustee of Brisbane Girls Grammar School (1994-98) and a member of the council of Griffith University (from 2003).

On 23 January 1976, McMurdo married Philip Donald McMurdo who later became a judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland. They have four adult children.

In 1985, Margaret Rizkalla was appointed a magistrate in the state of Victoria, the first woman to be appointed to the position. Changes to the appointment criteria, which introduced a Law Degree as a requirement for new appointments in the Victorian Magistrates Act, rather than a progression from the rank of Clerks of Courts, enabled this appointment. Rizkalla graduated with a law degree from the University of Melbourne in 1975 and completed the Leo Cussen Legal Education course as an alternative to completing articles in 1976. She was admitted to practice as a solicitor and barrister in Victoria in 1976.

Rizkalla practised at the Victorian Bar until December 1984, when she was appointed a Member of the Small Claims and Residential Tenancy Tribunal of Victoria. Her appointment to the magistracy occurred in September 1985.

Whilst a sitting magistrate, Rizkalla was also appointed Chair of the Police Disciplinary Board of Victoria. In June 1988, she was appointed President of the Victorian Equal Opportunity Board and Deputy President of the Victorian Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

In June 1994, Rizkalla was appointed a Judge of the County Court of Victoria. She retired from this position in February 2013.

Go to ‘Details’ below to read a reflective essay written by Margaret Rizkalla for the Trailblazing Women and the Law Project.

The Honourable Diana Bryant is an Australian jurist. She was appointed Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia on 5 July 2004. Before this, she was the inaugural Chief Federal Magistrate of the Federal Magistrates Court of Australia (now the Federal Circuit Court of Australia) from 2000-2004.

Her Honour’s appointment to the bench followed many years practising in family law in both Perth and Victoria. In Perth, she was a partner with the firm Phillips Fox; in Melbourne she was a founding member of Chancery Chambers. Known to be ‘a brilliant lawyer’, with an ‘innate sense of justice and fairness,’ her time as a barrister was marked by her preparedness to pursue both on behalf of her clients even at her own cost.

Her Honour has long been committed to advocating on behalf of women in the legal profession, having been a founding member of the Women Lawyers Association of Western Australia. She is currently Patron of Australian Women Lawyers and a committee member of The Australian Association of Women Judges.

Born into a family of legal professionals (her mother was a lawyer, as was her grandfather), Her Honour has witnessed considerable change across the course of her professional life, with regards to the status of women in the legal profession. In a 2016 address at the Australian Women Lawyers conference, she noted, ‘[a]although there are further mountains to climb for women lawyers, the progress is encouraging, ‘suggesting that one of the most ‘encouraging signs’ was greater acceptance of the need for ‘different work policies and practices which do not impede the path to success.’

Diana Bryant was interviewed by Nikki Henningham for the Trailblazing Women and the Law Oral History Project. For details of the interview see the National Library of AustraliaCATALOGUE RECORD.

Sibyl Enid Vera Munro Morrison became the first female barrister in New South Wales in June 1924. She was often briefed by fellow pioneering female lawyers, Christian Jollie Smith and Marie Byles, to whom she referred as her ‘sisters-in-law’.

Nerida Josephine Cohen (later Goodman) was the second woman (and first Jewish woman) to practise at the New South Wales (NSW) Bar. Amongst her early mentors were Professor Gladys Marks and feminist leaders Jessie Street and Ruby Rich. She was admitted to the NSW bar in 1935.

She built her business steadily throughout the 1930s and 40s, particularly in the area of divorce and industrial law, because she had an abiding interest in advancing the rights of women in the domestic and industrial spheres.

During WWII, Nerida left the Bar to play a part in the war effort by working firstly with the Women’s Employment Board and then with the NSW Department of Labour and Industry as a legal officer. She was chairman of the Council for Women in War Work, which collected records of the achievements of women during the war.

In 1952, she was invited to be the inaugural president of the Women Lawyers Association of New South Wales.

Helen Symon QC is a leading advocate with wide experience in taxation law as well as commercial and administrative law. She appears regularly in the High Court of Australia, the Federal Court of Australia and the Supreme Court of Victoria. One of the most experienced taxation silks in Australia, Symon has been, professionally, ‘outstandingly successful – for a woman. That,’ she says, ‘sums up both my professional achievements and my professional frustrations.’

Elizabeth Proust is one of Melbourne, Victoria’s leading business figures, having held leadership roles in the private and public sectors in Australia for over 30 years. She is Chairman of Nestle Australia Ltd, Chairman of Bank of Melbourne, a director of Perpetual Ltd, Spotless Ltd, Insurance Manufacturers Australia Pty Ltd, Sinclair Knight Merz Holdings Pty Ltd, and of Sports Australia Hall of Fame. She is also a member of the Advisory Board of JP Morgan, and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Prior to taking on roles as a non-executive director, Elizabeth spent eight years with the ANZ Group, including four years as Managing Director of Esanda. At ANZ itself, she held the positions of Managing Director, Metrobanking and Group General Manager, Human Resources, Corporate Affairs and Management Services. She was global head of HR at ANZ at a time when the bank was represented in some 43 countries.

Before joining ANZ, Proust was Secretary of the Victorian Department of the Premier and Cabinet and Chief Executive of the City of Melbourne. She had previously been appointed Secretary of the Victorian Attorney General’s Department. Proust’s first role after graduation was in public affairs at BP Australia.

Educated by the Good Samaritan sisters in Balmain and Wollongong, Proust worked for the Young Catholic Students’ movement after leaving school. She has a BA (Hons) from La Trobe University and a Law degree from the University of Melbourne.

Proust was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2010 for distinguished service to public administration and to business, through leadership roles in government and private enterprise, as a mentor to women, and to the community through contributions to arts, charitable and educational bodies. Previous board roles include Chairman of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Chairman of the Centre for Dialogue at La Trobe University and a director of Nonprofit Australia.

Go to ‘Details’ below to read a reflective essay written by Elizabeth Proust for the Trailblazing Women and the Law Project.

Sally Brown was at the forefront of women advancing in the Victorian judiciary, as one of the first female magistrates appointed in Victoria in 1985. She was appointed Chief Magistrate in 1990, and then a Judge of the Family Court of Australia in 1993. She has served on a number of boards, including as Chair of the Australian Institute of Criminology.

Susanne Elizabeth Schreiner (Sue) was born in Sydney in 1939 of parents who left Vienna before the outbreak of World War II. She spent her early life in Canberra and was in the year of the first graduates (in Law) of the Australian National University (ANU) in 1962. She also completed a Diploma in Criminology from the University of Sydney.

Schreiner signed the High Court roll as a barrister and solicitor in 1962, the same year she was admitted to practise at the NSW Bar. She was the first female barrister to appear in the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and the fourteenth woman admitted to the NSW Bar. She had difficulty gaining articles in NSW and this led to her finally gaining employment as a solicitor in Canberra with Mr J. D. Donohoe. She stayed with him until 1964 when she went to Sydney. She practised at the Bar there until 1975 when she was appointed a NSW Magistrate. She was the second woman appointed as a NSW Magistrate and the first person to be so appointed from outside the Public Service. Her appointment caused great outcry as it heralded a big shift in the way in which NSW Magistrates were appointed.

Schreiner is the co-author (with K.B. Morgan) of ‘Probate practice and precedents’. She did some law reporting as well as research for Butterworth’s into the feasibility of an Australian version of Halsbury’s Laws of England, the existence of which is now a fact.

Go to ‘Details’ below to read a reflective essay written by Sue Schreiner for the Trailblazing Women and the Law Project.

Rosemary Budavari is currently (2016) the Senior Solicitor for Disability Discrimination Law at Canberra Community Law, a position she has held since 2013. She has played an important role in Australian community law services and, in 2010, she was recognised for this role when she was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for service to the law through the advancement of human rights and through the Women’s Legal Centre of the ACT.

Go to ‘Details’ below to read an essay written by Rosemary Budavari for the Trailblazing Women and the Law Project.

Emerita Professor Rosemary Owens AO was formerly Dame Roma Mitchell Chair of Law (2008-2015) and served as Dean of Law (2007 – 2011) at the University of Adelaide. She was appointed as an Officer in the Order of Australia in January 2014 for her distinguished service to the law, as an academic and administrator, to international and national labour organizations, and to women. Professor Owens is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law.

Acknowledged internationally as a leader in her field, Professor Owens has held many significant appointments during her academic career. In 2010 she was appointed to the International Labour Organisation’s Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR), which comprises 20 leading experts from around the world appointed on the basis of their independence and integrity as well as knowledge of their discipline.

Go to ‘Details’ below to read a reflective essay written by Rosemary Owens for the Trailblazing Women and the Law Project.

The Hon. Dr Robyn Layton has been a champion of social justice and rights for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, refugees, women and children. A former Judge of the Supreme Court of South Australia, Layton was the third woman to take silk in the State. She is a former Judge and Deputy President of the South Australian Industrial Court and Commission, and a former Deputy President of the Commonwealth Administrative Appeals Tribunal. She was the reporter and author of the landmark Child Protection Review into South Australian Child Protection Laws in 2003. Layton has the distinction of having been the first Australian to be appointed as a member of the International Labour Organization’s Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations, and its first female Chair. In 2012 she was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for services to the law and to the judiciary, particularly through the Supreme Court of South Australia, as an advocate for Indigenous, refugee and children’s rights, and to the community.

Robyn Layton was interviewed by Kim Rubenstein for the Trailblazing Women and the Law Oral History Project. For details of the interview see the National Library of Australia CATALOGUE RECORD.

The Hon. Margaret Nyland AM was the second woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court of South Australia. One of only three women admitted to practice in the State in 1965, Nyland obtained articles and in time became the senior partner in her own law firm. She later enjoyed a successful career, where her area of specialisation was family law. Subsequent appointments included Inaugural Chairperson of the Commonwealth Social Security Appeals Tribunal (SA) (1975 to 1987); Chair of the South Australian Sex Discrimination Board (1985); Deputy Presiding Officer of the Equal Opportunity Tribunal (1986); District Court Judge (1987) and Supreme Court Judge (1993). After retiring from the Supreme Court in 2012, in 2014 Nyland was appointed Commissioner to the Child Protection Systems Royal Commission (SA). Nyland was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for services to the judiciary, human rights and the equal status of women, and to the community through a range of cultural organisations.

Margaret Nyland was interviewed by Kim Rubenstein for the Trailblazing Women and the Law Oral History Project. For details of the interview see the National Library of Australia CATALOGUE RECORD.

Rosemary Hunter is a feminist legal academic who, through her research, writing, leadership and activism has worked to support women in legal and academic careers, as well as to promote more generally women’s equality, women’s access to justice, and justice for women.

Go to ‘Details’ below to read a reflective essay written by Rosemary Hunter for the Trailblazing Women and the Law Project.

Sandy Mak is currently (2016) a corporate partner at Corrs Chambers Westgarth, specialising in mergers & acquisitions. In 2013 she won Female Partner Award at the Lawyers Weekly Women in Law Awards. At the awards, she was described as ‘a leading light, ‘a dynamo’ and ‘a champion of women lawyers inside and outside Corrs, a driver of change in gender diversity, a role model and mentor to young lawyers, a critical member of our leadership team and a formidable corporate M&A lawyer’.

Sandra Bailey, a member of the Yorta Yorta nation from southern NSW and Victoria, is the Chief Executive Officer of the Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council of NSW (AH&MRC), the peak representative organisation and advocate for Aboriginal communities on health and has a membership comprising of nearly 50 Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHSs) who deliver culturally appropriate primary health care services to Aboriginal people across NSW.

A graduate of Melbourne Law School, Sandra has worked as a Solicitor for the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service and Head of the Victorian Aboriginal Issues Unit of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, and gained extensive experience working in partnership with Aboriginal community organisations in the areas of the advocacy and support of Aboriginal self-determination, building on the strengths of Aboriginal community development, legal and health inequalities and the preservation of cultural heritage.

Sandra’s current role incudes representing members interests through the provision of member services support, effective policy and program development within the sector and building on State and Commonwealth partnerships to ensure appropriate Aboriginal primary health care service delivery to achieve better health outcomes for Aboriginal people. Another significant role includes working in the broader health system with external partners in government and non-government agencies to promote engagement with the AH&MRC and ACCHSs in policy planning and service delivery at state, regional and local levels.

Sandra has held her current position since 1992 and with the support of an Aboriginal community-elected Board of Directors, the AH&MRC has expanded to include support for nearly 50 ACCHSs through various activities delivered through Public Health Units which assists members with clinic services, cancer care, child & maternal health services, chronic disease management, tobacco cessation, drug/alcohol use and harm minimisation; a Business Development Unit supporting members with service and clinical accreditation, governance, IT infrastructure & information management systems; a Social and Emotional Wellbeing Workforce Support Unit assisting AHWs; Research & Data Support; an Aboriginal Health College to provide education and training for current and future sector workers; and auspicing an Aboriginal Ethics Committee that ensures culturally appropriate ethical review of Aboriginal health research projects in NSW.

Sandra is a co-chair of the NSW Aboriginal Health Partnership, which is strengthened by a formal agreement between the NSW Government and the AH&MRC, and has served on a number of Ministerial Advisory Committees and boards. She has also been involved in a number of research projects in Aboriginal health including in the areas of child health and resilience.

In recognition of her service in the Aboriginal health sector, Sandra was awarded the Australian Government Centenary Medal for Contribution to Health in 2003. In 2014 Sandra was again acknowledged for her service to the Aboriginal health sector, receiving the Hall of Fame award at the 2014 NSW Health Aboriginal Health Awards.

Raelene Webb QC holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Physics from the University of Adelaide and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Queensland. She was admitted to the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory and the High Court of Australia in 1992. In 2004, she was appointed Queen’s Counsel. Prior to her five year appointment on 1 April 2013 by the Attorney General, as President of the National Native Title Tribunal (NNTT), Raelene was named as one of the leading native title silks in Australia. She has appeared as lead counsel in many native title and Aboriginal land matters and has advised upon and appeared in the High Court in most land-mark cases on the judicial interpretation and development of native title/Aboriginal land law since the decision of Mabo V Queensland (No 2).

Raelene became a fellow of the Australia Academy of Law in August 2013 and delivered the Annual Richard Cooper Memorial Lecture at the TC Beirne School of Law, University of Queensland, at the end of September 2013. She was a recipient of the 2014 Law Council of Australia President’s Medal, in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the legal profession in Australia.

On receipt of the award, Raelene encouraged other women thinking of taking risks with their careers to be brave.

‘I marvel how it is that a shy country girl coming to the law in mid-life, finds herself here receiving this prestigious award and in the company of so many distinguished lawyers who have themselves contributed so much to the legal profession, both personally and through their work with the Law Council of Australia.

My advice to all who are contemplating scaling the walls of the legal profession, and particularly to women: be courageous, be bold, and above all, be passionate about the law.’

Go to ‘Details’ below to read a reflective essay written by Raelene Webb for the Trailblazing Women and the Law Project.

Tammy Young is the founder and owner of Young’s List, a boutique barristers’ clerking service in Victoria. Combining a passion for practice management and a keen interest in business, Young sought to build upon the expertise she acquired in commercial law, when she launched Young’s List in 2012. Of the thirteen Victorian based barristers’ clerks, Tammy is the sole female business owner, and one of only two female CEOs.

As a young, single parent of two small children, Tammy completed a Bachelor of Arts (Hons), majoring in history, at the University of Melbourne. She then commenced undergraduate studies in law, which she completed with honours in two and a half years. Young then undertook her articles of clerkship at Minter Ellison where she worked predominantly in taxation. She subsequently completed an associateship at the Federal Court of Australia where she gained experience in both migration and native title law.

Young later worked at Freehills in mergers and acquisitions, and commercial litigation at Cornwall Stodart Lawyers. She signed the Victorian Bar Roll in 2008.

After the birth of her fourth child, Tammy left the Bar and took the unprecedented step of joining Foley’s List as a barristers’ clerk. This inspired her to start her own list of barristers, with an emphasis on commercial law.

After working at ANU law school, as an associate to a High Court judge and a brief stint with Michael Kirby at the Australian Law Reform Commission, Rebecca Davies joined Freehills as an articled clerk, with Kim Santow as her master solicitor.

Just under three years after her admission she became the third female partner at a major Australian law firm.

Davies practised as a litigator and a commercial lawyer working in both the Sydney and Melbourne offices of the firm, managing a range of high profile cases and projects.

She was a member of the firm’s board and chair of the Women at Freehills steering committee.

Go to ‘Details’ below to read a reflective essay written by Rebecca Davies for the Trailblazing Women and the Law Project.

Rashda Rana SC is a Barrister, Arbitrator and Mediator. She has worked at the Bar in London, in various states in Australia and in the Asia Pacific region, notably Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and China, for the past 20 years. Most recently, she was the General Counsel for Lend Lease Project Management & Construction. Rashda is also an Adjunct Professor at The Sydney University Law School. She was appointed Senior Counsel in 2014.

Rana is the President of ArbitralWomen, the Immediate Past President of the Australian branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb), the Founding Member and former Vice Chair of the Society of Construction Law Australia, a Fellow and former Director of the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (ACICA), Fellow of Institute of Arbitrators & Mediators Australia (IAMA), Fellow of Commercial Law Association of Australia (CLAA) and the Australian representative to the ICC Taskforce on Subcontracting and the ICC Taskforce on Public Procurement.

Go to ‘Details’ below to read a reflective essay written by Rashda Rana for the Trailblazing Women and the Law Project.

The Honourable Justice Pamela Tate was appointed as a Judge of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Victoria on 14 September 2010. She was appointed to the role of Solicitor-General for Victoria in 2003, the first woman to receive the appointment, and served in the role until 2010, representing the State of Victoria in constitutional challenges in the High Court of Australia. During her tenure, she was appointed Special Counsel to the Human Rights Consultation Committee that recommended the enactment in Victoria of the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities. She is a Foundation Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law and was the Winner, Women Lawyers Achievement Awards (Victoria) in 2010. In June 2007 she was a Visiting Fellow, Centre for the Study of Human Rights, at the London School of Economics.

Women’s advocate and civil libertarian Nooraini (Noor) Blumer (Dip Law (LPAB) LLM, GAICD) is a Director at Blumer’s Personal Injuries Lawyers. She has served as President of Australian Women Lawyers (2005-2006), Chair of the Equalising Opportunities in the Law Committee of the Law Council of Australia (2007-2010) and President of the Law (2011-2012. She has also served as Vice-President of Civil Liberties Australia.

Go to ‘Details’ below to read a reflective essay written by Noor Blumer for the Trailblazing Women and the Law Project.

Marlene Hall rose to become a highly regarded specialist in the field of aged care law, and the first person to be appointed as Special Counsel Aged Care Law in the Commonwealth Department of Health. Hall came to the law after a career as an English teacher; studying for a Bachelor of Laws degree at night school in order to graduate, she attributes her background in English language and literature, and her work at weekends in nursing homes over the years, to the later success she experienced in her dealings in complex aged care law matters. She made a significant contribution to public sector law, including through the national ‘Living Longer Living Better’ aged care policy reforms.

Marlene Hall was interviewed by Kim Rubenstein for the Trailblazing Women and the Law Oral History Project. For details of the interview see the National Library of Australia CATALOGUE RECORD.