Anne Ferguson is an Australian judge, who is currently the Chief Justice of the

Supreme Court of Victoria The Supreme Court of Victoria is the highest court in the Australian state of Victoria. Founded in 1852, it is a superior court of common law and equity, with unlimited and inherent jurisdiction within the state. The Supreme Court comprises ...

Early life

Ferguson was educated at the Brigidine Sisters’ Killester College in Springvale where she was academic dux. She studied Arts and Law at

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has a ...

, winning the Supreme Court Prize as the top student in her graduating class. Ferguson was also appointed Editor of the ''

Monash University Law Review The ''Monash University Law Review'' is a scholarly refereed law journal based at the Monash University Faculty of Law. The journal is managed by an editorial committee of Monash University students who are assisted by two faculty advisors. The e ...

''. In 1989, she graduated with a Doctor of Philosophy in Law from the

University of Southampton , mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour , type = Public research university , established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...

. Her thesis was on unfair contracts.

Legal career

Prior to her judicial appointments she worked as a litigator at J.M. Smith & Emmerton and

Allens Arthur Robinson Allens is an international commercial law firm that operates in the Asia-Pacific region. The firm is one of the largest in the Asia-Pacific region and has many high-profile political, judicial and corporate alumni. Operations Allens has 149 p ...

. She also previously served as Honorary Secretary to the Council of Legal Education, one of only 5 people to ever hold the position in the organization's 100-year history.

Judicial office

Ferguson was first appointed a judge of the Trial Division of the Supreme Court of Victoria in 2010. In 2014, she was made a Judge of the Court of Appeal. In August 2017, Ferguson was named as the next

Chief Justice of Victoria The Chief Justice of Victoria is the senior judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria and the highest ranking judicial officer in the Australian state of Victoria. The Chief Justice is both the judicial head of the Supreme Court as well as the admin ...

, succeeding

Marilyn Warren Marilyn Louise Warren (born 1951) is a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria and Lieutenant-Governor of Victoria, Australia. Early life Warren grew up in the Melbourne suburb of Sandringham, and was educated at the Kilbr ...

. Ferguson took office in October 2017. In her role as Chief Justice, Ferguson is chair of the Judicial Commission of Victoria. In 2019, Ferguson heard the high profile

County Court A county court is a court based in or with a jurisdiction covering one or more counties, which are administrative divisions (subnational entities) within a country, not to be confused with the medieval system of ''county courts'' held by the high ...

appeal of Cardinal

George Pell George Pell (born 8 June 1941) is an Australian cardinal of the Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . I ...

against his conviction for the commission of sexual offences. Ferguson concurred with the Court of Appeal 2-1 majority rejecting the appeal, which was subsequently overruled by the High Court.

Personal life

Ferguson is married to fellow Supreme Court judge, Justice Kim Hargrave.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferguson, Anne Chief Justices of Victoria Judges of the Supreme Court of Victoria Australian women judges Women chief justices 21st-century Australian judges Australian solicitors Monash University alumni Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Monash Law School alumni 21st-century women judges