Chief Justice to launch Swinburne Law School
In Summary
The Honourable Chief Justice Marilyn Warren AC, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria, will launch the new Swinburne Law School and address the inaugural class of the Bachelor of Laws.
Chief Justice Marilyn Warren was appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria in November 2003, and created history by being the first woman to be appointed to this office in an Australian Supreme Court.
“I am delighted to be able to welcome Chief Justice Warren to the launch of our new law school and our Bachelor of Laws degree,” Swinburne University of Technology Vice-Chancellor, Professor Linda Kristjanson, said.
“Swinburne’s law school offers an undergraduate program that focuses on commercial law with emphasis on intellectual property law, and it is the only degree in Victoria with this specialisation.
“This will also be a special occasion for our inaugural class of law students and their families, who will be attending the launch. I welcome those students on what promises to be an exciting and fulfilling journey.”
Swinburne is offering its Bachelor of Laws for the first time in 2015. Focused on commercial law, with a distinct emphasis on intellectual property, technology, and innovation, it will offer students a degree that stresses practical skills and real-world experience.
The Swinburne Bachelor of Laws program is fully accredited by the Council of Legal Education in Victoria and offers students the option of a single degree or combined program with arts, science, business or engineering.
Chief Justice Warren, who holds the degrees of Bachelor of Jurisprudence, Bachelor of Laws and Master of Laws from Monash University, commenced her legal career in the Victorian Public Service and was admitted to practice in 1975.
She was employed in various government legal offices including as a senior legal policy adviser to three Attorneys-General, and was later appointed an assistant chief parliamentary counsel.
Chief Justice Warren signed the Roll of the Victorian Bar in 1985 and practised predominantly in the areas of administrative law, commercial law and town planning.
She served as a member of the Bar Council's Law Reform Committee for eight years from 1986 to 1994. In 1997, she was appointed Queen’s Counsel.
In 1998 she was appointed to the Supreme Court of Victoria. She has sat in a number of significant trials and appeals and continues to sit in all jurisdictions in her capacity as Chief Justice.
In June 2005, she was made a Companion in the Order of Australia (AC) for her services to the judiciary and legal profession in the delivery and administration of law in Victoria, to social and economic conditions of women and to forensic medicine.
Read the Chief Justice's speech.