Justin Thomas Gleeson SC (born 9 April 1961) is an Australian lawyer and former

Solicitor-General of Australia The Solicitor-General of Australia is the country's second highest-ranking law officer, after the Attorney-General for Australia. The position is often known as the Commonwealth Solicitor-General in order to distinguish it from the state solicit ...

, the Commonwealth's second-ranking law officer.

Early life and education

Gleeson was educated at

St Patrick's College, Strathfield , motto_translation = Matthew 5:16: Let Your Light Shine , location = , Inner West Sydney , state = New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , other_na ...

, then 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 ...

, from which he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws (University Medal and First-Class Honours). Gleeson undertook postgraduate studies in the law at the University of Oxford, where he earned a

Bachelor of Civil Law Bachelor of Civil Law (abbreviated BCL, or B.C.L.; la, Baccalaureus Civilis Legis) is the name of various degrees in law conferred by English-language universities. The BCL originated as a postgraduate degree in the universities of Oxford and Camb ...

Career

Gleeson was appointed Solicitor-General in 2012, having acted in that capacity since the departure of

Stephen Gageler Stephen John Gageler (; born 5 July 1958) is a Justice of the High Court of Australia. He was previously a barrister based in Sydney and the Solicitor-General of Australia, the Commonwealth's second-ranking law officer. Early life and educatio ...

the previous year. Prior to his appointment, Gleeson was the Head of Banco Chambers. Following a disagreement with the Commonwealth Attorney-General,

George Brandis George Henry Brandis (born 22 June 1957) is a former Australian politician. He was a Senator for Queensland from 2000 to 2018, representing the Liberal Party, and was a cabinet minister in the Abbott and Turnbull governments. He was later Hi ...

, about a direction made by the Attorney-General which restricted access to the Solicitor-General, Gleeson announced that he would resign with effect from 7 November 2016. In his resignation letter, Gleeson stated that his relationship with the Attorney-General was "irretrievably broken". Following his resignation, Gleeson rejoined private practice and returned to Banco Chambers, the chambers that he founded. In addition to acting as counsel in domestic courts, Gleeson is also currently working as an international arbitrator. In September 2017, Gleeson joined the legal team of

Tony Windsor Antony Harold Curties Windsor, (born 2 September 1950) is a former Australian politician. Windsor was an independent member for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Tamworth from 1991 to 2001 − supporting the incumbent Greiner L ...

, led by

Ron Merkel Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in ''Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...

, in the High Court case ''Re: Joyce'', one of the seven cases constituting the 2017 Australian constitutional crisis.

Personal life

Justin is married to academic and author Dr

Bernadette Brennan Bernadette is a French name, a female form of the name Bernard, which means "brave bear". Notable persons with the name include: People * Bernadette (singer) (born 1959), Dutch singer * Bernadette Allen (born 1956), American foreign service of ...

. They have two daughters Madeline and Caitlin. His father is Gerald Gleeson AC, a former senior public servant in the Labor Government in New South Wales. One of his brothers, Fabian Gleeson, is a judge on the

New South Wales Court of Appeal The New South Wales Court of Appeal, part of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, is the highest court for civil matters and has appellate jurisdiction in the Australian state of New South Wales. Jurisdiction The Court of Appeal operates pursu ...

. His father-in-law is former High Court Chief Justice Sir

Gerard Brennan Sir Francis Gerard Brennan (22 May 1928 – 1 June 2022) was an Australian lawyer and jurist who served as the 10th Chief Justice of Australia. As a judge in the High Court of Australia, he wrote the lead judgement on the Mabo decision, whi ...

. His elder daughter is author Madeline Gleeson.Gadfly, ''The Saturday Paper'', 14–20 May 2016, p. 17

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gleeson, Justin 1961 births Living people Alumni of the University of Oxford Australian people of Irish descent Australian Senior Counsel Solicitors-General of Australia Sydney Law School alumni