Kelly Anne Rees 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 5 September 2018. Rees was raised on her family's cattle farm in the Bellingen Valley and was dux of Bellingen High School. She studied at the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensiv ...

, winning the Sir Kevin Ellis Prize for the best performance in the combined commerce and law degrees and graduating in 1991. She received a Master of Laws (First Class) from the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

in 1995. She represented both universities in the

World Universities Debating Championship The World Universities Debating Championship (WUDC) is the world's largest debating tournament and one of the largest annual international student events in the world. WUDC is held in the British Parliamentary Debate format (involving four team ...

, was ranked as the top Australian debater, and won the England and Wales Debating Championship. She later funded scholarships for the dux and best-performing female student of Bellingen High School. Rees was admitted as a solicitor in 1992 and worked for Mallesons Stephen Jaques (now

King & Wood Mallesons King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) is the largest global law firm in Asia. It has 30 offices and more than 3,500 legal professionals in Europe, North America, Asia and the Middle East. Its predecessor firms include ''SJ Berwin'' of the United Kingdom's ...

) from 1992 to 1998 as senior associate in commercial disputes. She was seconded to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

law firm Kingsley Napley from 1995 to 1996. She was admitted as a barrister in 1998 and was appointed

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 ...

in 2012. She also served as chair of the Education Committee of the New South Wales Bar Association. Rees' appearances as a barrister included the Special Commission of Inquiry into Acute Care Services in New South Wales Public Hospitals (2008),

Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was a royal commission announced in November 2012 and established in 2013 by the Australian government pursuant to the Royal Commissions Act 1902 to inquire into and repo ...

(2014) and

Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry The Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry, also known as the Banking Royal Commission and the Hayne Royal Commission, was a royal commission established on 14 December 2017 by the Austra ...

(2018).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rees, Kelly Judges of the Supreme Court of New South Wales 21st-century Australian women judges 21st-century Australian judges University of New South Wales alumni Living people Date of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people)