Julian P McMahon is a Melbourne barrister, who has been the lawyer for

Van Tuong Nguyen A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and bigger than a common car. There is some varying in the scope of the word across ...

and members of the Bali Nine. He currently serves as the president of the Capital Punishment Justice Project (formerly Reprieve Australia), an organisation which aims to provide legal representation and humanitarian assistance to those at risk of execution.

Early life and education

McMahon began studies at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb no ...

in 1986, where he was a resident at

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

. McMahon was a member of the college debating club known as the Dialectic Society. He graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

with Honours in 1987, and a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...

in 1990. He later obtained a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

degree from

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 h ...

in 1998.

Career

McMahon was admitted to practice as a solicitor in 1992, and worked for Sly and Weigall and then the Office of Public Prosecutions. He was admitted to the

Victorian Bar The Victorian Bar is the bar association of the Australian State of Victoria. The current President of the Bar is Roisin Annesley KC. Its members are barristers registered to practice in Victoria. On 30 June 2020, there were 2,179 counsels ...

in 1998, and specialises in criminal and human rights law. He describes his chambers as having a history of "looking after people who no-one else really wants to defend". McMahon opposes the use of the death penalty internationally, and challenged Australian citizen Van Nguyen's execution by Singapore in 2005, along with

Lex Lasry Lex Lasry (born 8 July 1948) is an Australian lawyer and a retired judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria from 2007 to 2018. Early life and education Lasry grew up in the Victorian country town of Healesville where his father worked as a sol ...

QC. McMahon has represented the Australian citizens

Andrew Chan Andrew Chan (; 12 January 1984 – 29 April 2015) was an Australian man who was convicted and executed in Indonesia for drug trafficking as a member of the Bali Nine. In 2005, Chan was arrested at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar. ...

and Myuran Sukumaran, convicted of drug trafficking in Bali, Indonesia. McMahon, along with a team of lawyers including

Todung Mulya Lubis Todung Mulya Lubis, S.H., L.LM. (born July 4, 1949 in Muara Botung, Kotanopan, Mandailing Natal, North Sumatra) is a lawyer and activist in Indonesia. He founded The law firm ''Lubis Santosa and Maulana'' in 1986, later ''Lubis Santosa and Mara ...

have helped their clients prepare clemency requests, and has launched judicial reviews in an attempt to overturn their death sentences. McMahon visited the pair in Nusakambangan Island, requesting family access. In a comment to SBS

Dateline A dateline is a brief piece of text included in news articles that describes where and when the story was written or filed, though the date is often omitted. In the case of articles reprinted from wire services, the distributing organization i ...

, McMahon stated "they help Indonesians in prison become better people, the idea of killing two young men who do that day in and day out is just ridiculous.”

Honours

McMahon was named Victorian Australian of the Year in 2016 for his work as a barrister, human rights advocate and fierce opponent of the death penalty. In the 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours, McMahon was made a

Companion of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(AC), Australia's highest civilian honour.

References

External links

Julian P McMahon
at the Victorian Bar association.

Jesuit Social Services board {{DEFAULTSORT:McMahon, Julian P People educated at Trinity College (University of Melbourne) Lawyers from Melbourne Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) Australian barristers Anti–death penalty activists Living people Companions of the Order of Australia Monash University alumni