ABA Welcomes Appointment of new Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria

08 August 2017

The Australian Bar Association (ABA) welcomes the announcement today [8 August 2017] of the appointment of the Honourable Justice Anne Ferguson as the new Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria.

Justice Ferguson, a Victorian Court of Appeal judge, will take up her appointment in early October 2017, replacing retiring Chief Justice Marilyn Warren.

Australian Bar Association (ABA) President Will Alstergren QC said the appointment had been received with great enthusiasm throughout the legal profession.

“Justice Ferguson is an exceptional choice as the new Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria,” Mr Alstergren said.

“Justice Ferguson will bring to the role of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria outstanding knowledge and experience in the law, particularly in relation to her excellent work as a trial and appellant judge. Her Honour’s appointment is welcomed with great enthusiasm by the Australian Bar Association.”

Mr Alstergren also paid tribute to retiring Chief Justice Marilyn Warren.

“Since her appointment in 2003, Chief Justice Warren has been an exemplary leader of Victoria’s highest Court. On behalf of the legal profession I express our profound respect for Her Honour’s leadership of and work in the Supreme Court,” Mr Alstergren said.

Justice Ferguson was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2010 and to the Court of Appeal in 2014. Prior to her appointment as a judge, Justice Ferguson was a partner at law firm Allens Arthur Robinson, working in insolvency and commercial litigation. As a solicitor, Justice Ferguson worked on some of Australia’s highest profile corporate cases, including the complex litigation that followed the collapses of Opes Prime and the Pyramid Building Society.

Justice Ferguson will be the twelfth Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria. She is the first solicitor to be appointed Chief Justice and the second woman in the role.

Justice Ferguson was admitted to legal practice in 1984. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) from Monash University, where she won the Supreme Court Prize for the top law student. She also holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Law from the University of Southampton, where she specialised in unfair contracts.

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