Christine Elizabeth Adamson is an Australian judge. She has been a Judge of the

Supreme Court of New South Wales The Supreme Court of New South Wales is the highest state court of the Australian State of New South Wales. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil matters, and hears the most serious criminal matters. Whilst the Supreme Court ...

since October 2011. She was educated at Walford Anglican School for Girls and the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

, where she graduated with honours in law in 1986 and won the Stow Medal and Bennett Medal for academic distinction. She was admitted as a solicitor in 1986 and worked as a legal officer for the Commonwealth Attorney-General's Department for two years, then from March 1988 worked for the Australian Government Solicitor's Office. She taught property law at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...

in 1987 and Constitutional Law at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's ...

in 1989. Adamson was admitted to the New South Wales Bar in February 1989 at the relatively young age of 26. Her practice as a barrister included trade practices, administrative law, constitutional law, professional negligence, personal injury and disciplinary matters, and although initially appearing often in the

Administrative Appeals Tribunal The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) is an Australian tribunal that conducts independent merits review of administrative decisions made under Commonwealth laws of the Australian Government. The AAT review decisions made by Australian Gover ...

and Administrative Decisions Tribunal of New South Wales, she later developed a significant Supreme Court practice. She attained

senior counsel The title of Senior Counsel or State Counsel (post-nominal letters: SC) is given to a senior lawyer in some countries that were formerly part of the British Empire. "Senior Counsel" is used in current or former Commonwealth countries or jurisdictio ...

status in 2003, and was appointed chairperson of the Council of Law Reporting for New South Wales in 2004. She represented officers of a failed insurer before the

HIH Insurance HIH Insurance was Australia's second-largest insurance company before it was placed into provisional liquidation on 15 March 2001. The demise of HIH is considered to be the largest corporate collapse in Australia's history, with liquidators ...

Royal Commission and was counsel assisting the Independent Commission Against Corruption in their investigations of state MPs Karyn Paluzzano and Angela D'Amore. She was appointed to the Supreme Court by

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

Greg Smith with effect from October 2011. In 2017, she presided over the trial of former state minister

Ian Macdonald Ian MacCormick (known by the pseudonym Ian MacDonald; 3 October 1948 – 20 August 2003) was a British music critic and author, best known for both '' Revolution in the Head'', his critical history of the Beatles which borrowed techniques from ...

and union official John Maitland, sentencing McDonald to at least seven years imprisonment and Maitland to at least four years' imprisonment. The sentences were quashed on 25 February 2019 by the Court of Criminal Appeal, which held that Adamson had not properly directed the jury. Adamson is the daughter of former

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

n state MP

Jennifer Cashmore Jennifer Lilian Cashmore (born 5 December 1937) (previously, and for most of her political career, known as Mrs Jennifer Adamson) is a former Australian politician. She was a Liberal Party member of the South Australian House of Assembly betwee ...

. Her sister,

Frances Adamson Frances Jennifer Adamson, (born 20 April 1961) is an Australian public servant and diplomat who is the 36th Governor of South Australia, in office since 7 October 2021. Early life and education Adamson was born in Adelaide, South Australia, th ...

, was Australia's first female Ambassador to China and, in October 2021, became the 36th Governor of South Australia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adamson, Christine Living people Date of birth missing (living people) Judges of the Supreme Court of New South Wales Australian women judges University of Adelaide alumni 20th-century Australian lawyers 21st-century Australian judges Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century women judges 20th-century Australian women