Julia Lily Ann Lonergan (born 14 January 1961) is an Australian judge who was appointed to 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 i ...

in March 2017. Lonergan was born in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and educated at St Patrick's Parramatta and

Loreto Kirribilli Loreto Kirribilli is an independent Roman Catholic comprehensive single-sex primary and secondary day school for girls, located in Kirribilli, a Lower North Shore suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established at Milsons Point i ...

. She then studied a Bachelor of Arts at

Macquarie University Macquarie University ( ) is a public research university based in Sydney, Australia, in the suburb of Macquarie Park. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the metropolitan area of S ...

and a Bachelor of Laws 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 si ...

before being admitted to practice as a solicitor in 1983. She began working at her parents' firm, T P and J Lonergan in

Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...

. She then worked for GIO, specialising in insurance litigation, later moving to Suncorp Metway. Lonergan was admitted as a barrister in 1997, and developed a practice in medical negligence, personal injury and professional negligence, becoming known as an expert in medical negligence. She appeared as a junior barrister for the plaintiff in Simpson v Diamond, which resulted in the highest medical negligence verdict in New South Wales history, leading to changes in the legislation relating to civil liability. Lonergan 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 jurisdicti ...

status in 2012. From 2013 to 2014, she was counsel assisting a Special Commission of Inquiry into child sex abuse allegations in the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle The Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle is a suffragan Latin Church diocese of the Archdiocese of Sydney, established in 1847 initially as the Diocese of Maitland and changed to the current name in 1995. The diocese covers the Hunter and Mid North Co ...

. She was elected to the Council of the NSW Bar Association for 2016 in a result that helped block a conservative effort to oust the incumbent members. Lonergan has served on the equal opportunity committees of both the

Law Council of Australia The Law Council of Australia, founded in 1933, is an association of law societies and bar associations from the states and territories of Australia, and the peak body representing the legal profession in Australia. The Law Council represents mo ...

and the

New South Wales Bar Association The New South Wales Bar Association is a professional body of lawyers responsible for the regulation of the legal profession in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The body administers the bar examination in accordance with the Legal Profe ...

. Lonergan 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 ...

Mark Speakman Mark Raymond Speakman (born 6 November 1959) is an Australian politician. He has served as the New South Wales Attorney General since January 2017 in the second Berejiklian ministry since April 2019, and in the first arrangement of the Perrott ...

with effect from 21 March 2017, filling the vacancy caused by the elevation of Justice Richard White to the Court of Appeal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lonergan, Julia 1961 births Living people Judges of the Supreme Court of New South Wales Australian women judges Macquarie University alumni Sydney Law School alumni