Pearlman, Mahla
(1937 – 2011)Judge, Lawyer
Mahla Pearlman was the first woman to become chief judge of any jurisdiction within the state of New South Wales. At the time of her appointment to the NSW Land and Environment Court she stated: ‘I don’t think of myself as a woman lawyer. I think of myself as a lawyer. Then I get on with it! I suppose my appointment is good for me and good for women. I hope it’s good for the legal profession and good for solicitors.’
Rubensohn, Victoria
Lawyer, Regulator
Victoria Rubensohn is the current Convenor of the Classification Review Board and since 1991 has been Principal of international communications consultancy Omni Media, which specialises in communications regulatory policy. She is a consumer representative member of the Mobile Premium Services Code Review Panel and is a member of the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network Standing Advisory Committee. Victoria has been a Member of the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal and a Member of the Immigration Review Tribunal. She is a former President of the Communications and Media Law Association and has also been a member of the Copyright Law Review Committee. Victoria holds a Bachelor of Arts (Sydney), Master of Arts [in Government] (Sydney), Bachelor of Laws (UNSW) and Master of Human Rights (Sydney).
Picard, Marguerite
Lawyer, Solicitor
Marguerite Picard is a Melbourne-based accredited Family Law specialist, a Collaborative Lawyer and a Mediator who specialises in helping couples divorce without going to Court. She worked in litigation for many years, and has experienced firsthand the ongoing devastation that the traditional divorce process can leave in its wake, which sometimes includes irreversible damage to family ties and relationships. Marguerite realised that there had to be a better way and found it in Collaborative Practice. With her colleagues, a Psychologist and Financial Planner, she established the Melbourne Collaborative Alliance.
Pincus, Gae Margaret
(1940 – 2016)Judge's associate, Lawyer, Politician, Public servant
Gae Pincus completed an LLB at the Australian National University. She went on to work in the Office of Women’s Affairs; as an Associate for High Court Justice Lionel Murphy in 1982. In 1983 she returned to the Public Service to work in a legislative capacity dealing with law reform within various government departments. She went on to establish and chair the National Food Authority before working for the international body Food and Agricultural Organization.
Pitkin, Sally
Company director, Lawyer, Solicitor
Dr Sally Pitkin is a Company Director and Lawyer with thirty years’ corporate experience. Her current portfolio of board roles include ASX 200 companies, Federal Government owned business enterprises, private companies, regulatory bodies and non-profit organizations. Sally is the President of the Queensland Division of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She holds a Doctorate in the field of governance, and is an Adjunct Professor with the UQ Business School and a Fellow of Bond University. Her skills in corporate governance, risk management, strategy and business planning, organizational culture and stakeholder engagement have been developed from her legal background, eighteen years’ experience as a non-executive director and board member, and doctoral research.
In January 2021, Sally Pitkin was awarded an AO for distinguished service to business, to corporate governance standards and performance, to the arts, and to the advancement of women.
Powell, Lindy
Academic, Barrister, Lawyer, Queen's Counsel
Lindy Powell QC graduated with an LLB from the University of Adelaide and went on to work with Johnston Withers & Co as a Barrister and Solicitor later becoming a Partner. Between 1987-1991 she was the Director of the South Australian Legal Services Commission. She served as the first female President of the Law Society of South Australia between 1998-99 and in 1994 became a QC.
Renaud, Margaret
Barrister, Judge, Lawyer, Lecturer
Margaret Renaud was a Judge of the Family Court of Australia. She was granted Life Membership of the Women Lawyers’ Association of New South Wales. Margaret retired as a Family Court Judge in 1998. After an Arts degree, she was a university tutor. Margaret completed the Barristers Admission Board Course as a single mother and was admitted to the NSW Bar in 1974. She became a Crown Prosecutor before being appointed to the Bench of the Family Court in 1983. Following retirement she lectured in Practical Legal Training at Newcastle University and was a mediator with the Community Justice Centres.
Ridsdale, Mary
(1924 – 2007)Lawyer, Solicitor
Mary Risdale was admitted to practice as a legal practitioner in Melbourne on the 1st April, 1947. After many years as an employed solicitor and raising six children, Mary moved to Papua New Guinea in 1975.
There she spent six years with the Public Solicitor’s Office appearing for defendants in the Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea. For four years she managed the Public Solicitor’s Office in Rabaul and travelled all over New Guinea on the Supreme Court Circuit.
In 1975, Mary was appointed as the first solicitor to the newly established Katherine Regional Aboriginal Legal Aid Service. In this capacity she appeared regularly in the Magistrates Court in Katherine and the Supreme Court in Darwin. Through her dedication and industry the service provided very comprehensive and competent legal representation for Aboriginal people living in Katherine and surrounding communities.
Mary moved to Alice Springs in 1989 to take up employment as a solicitor with Stone and Buckley, now known as Morgan Buckley. She continued in full time practice as a solicitor with this firm for 10 years.
In 1997 Mary was appointed as a member of the Liquor Commission, now the Racing, Gaming and Licensing Commission. She remained as a member of the Commission until 2002.
Robinson, Jennifer
Academic, Advocate, Human rights lawyer, Lawyer
Jennifer Robinson is Director of Legal Advocacy for the Bertha Foundation, an organisation which supports emerging public interest lawyers around the world. She is also an Adjunct Professor in Law at the University of Sydney Law School. She is an expert in media and free speech law, having worked with clients such as Julian Assange, Richard Dawkins and the New York Times. She is also active in the West Papuan independence movement: she represents the leader in exile and is the co-founder of International Lawyers for West Papua. She graduated from the Australian National University with a double degree in Law and Asian Studies, where she was University Medallist in Law and Distinguished Scholar in Asian Studies. As a Rhodes Scholar, she completed a Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) and an MPhil in Public International Law.
Rose, Alexandra
In-House Counsel, Lawyer
Excerpt from speaker biography published by the University of Technology Sydney:
Alexandra Rose is the Company Secretary of Insurance Australia Group (IAG) Limited. Prior to this position, she was General Counsel and Company Secretary for the Benevolent Society, for which she won the Corporate Lawyer of the Year Award for 2013. She has served as director on a number of organisations including of The Law Society of NSW for six years, and chaired the Corporate Lawyers and Business Law Committees. She is a current director of Justice Connect and Women Lawyers Association of NSW. Alexandra is a Fellow of Chartered Secretaries Australia and a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors… She holds a Bachelor of Laws from UTS.
Milledge, Jacqueline
Coroner, Lawyer, Magistrate
In 1974 Magistrate Jacqueline Milledge became one of the first two female police prosecutors in NSW and remains the only person to be appointed directly from the constabulary to the bench in 1996. Milledge has gained a profile for her role as the Coroner in the 2006 inquest into Dianne Brimble’s death aboard a cruise liner; the 2003 inquest into the murders of three gay men near cliffs at Bondi; and the four-year inquest into the killing of prostitute Arron Light. Milledge entered the NSW police force the same year as Christine Nixon. She studied law as a 38-year-old and was appointed a magistrate at the age of 44.