Mahla Liane Pearlman (2 June 1937 – 2 December 2011) was an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

lawyer and chief judge of the

Land and Environment Court of New South Wales The Land and Environment Court of New South Wales is a court within the Australian court hierarchy established pursuant to the to hear environmental, development, building and planning disputes. The Court’s jurisdiction, confined to the state ...

from 1992 to 2003.

Early life and education

Pearlman was born in

Boggabri Boggabri ( ) is a small town in north-eastern New South Wales, Australia. It is part of Narrabri Shire and lies between Gunnedah and Narrabri on the Kamilaroi Highway. At the , the town had a population of 856 people. The original town site ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, the daughter of Minnie and Mark Pearlman. She attended Boggabri Public School with her younger brother Braham. She later attended

MLC School , motto_translation = Walk as daughters of the light , established = , type = Independent single-sex early learning, primary, and secondary day school , gender = Girls , denomination = Uniting Church , oversight = , educati ...

in Burwood. She studied 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 ...

where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1957 and a Bachelor of Laws with Honours in 1960.

Career

Pearlman was admitted as a solicitor on 11 March 1960 and in 1981 became the first woman President of the

Law Society of New South Wales The Law Society of New South Wales is a professional association which represents over 29,000 solicitors in Australia. The Law Society has statutory powers and regulates the practice of law in New South Wales.http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/law ...

. In 1989 she was the first woman President of the Law Council of Australia, a body that represents both solicitors and barristers.

Land and Environment Court

In 1992 Pearlman was the first woman appointed the Chief Judge of the

New South Wales Land and Environment Court The Land and Environment Court of New South Wales is a court within the Australian court hierarchy established pursuant to the to hear environmental, development, building and planning disputes. The Court’s jurisdiction, confined to the state ...

. The appointment of a solicitor to such a high judicial position was controversial at a time when most judges had previously been barristers. Critics of that system said limiting the pool of potential judges to barristers was too narrow and widening it to include solicitors and academics would increase the number of women judges. In 1992

Jane Mathews Jane Hamilton Mathews (19 December 1940 – 31 August 2019) was a judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, a judge of the Federal Court of Australia and President of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. Early life and education Math ...

was the only woman out of 45 Supreme Court Judges, Leonie Glynn was the only woman out of 9

Industrial Court Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominat ...

judges and Angela Karpin was the only woman out of 56 judges of the District Court. Despite the initial controversy, Pearlman led the Court for 11 years with Justice Terry Sheahan stating that she led the court supremely well.

Honours

In January 1985 Pearlman was made a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Order (distinction), honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of Australia, Queen of Aus ...

for service to the legal profession, particularly the New South Wales Law Society. She was awarded the Centenary Medal for service to law and in June 2004 Pearlmen was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for service to the law and the judiciary, to the development of professional practice standards, and to the community. Pearlman's career, contribution and memory is honoured by the Mahla Pearlman Oration, an annual event delivered by an eminent person concerned with environment and planning law. The Mahla Pearlman Award is an annual award to a young lawyer who has made a significant contribution to environmental law.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pearlman, Mahla Officers of the Order of Australia Recipients of the Centenary Medal Australian women judges Sydney Law School alumni Australian Jews 1937 births 2011 deaths 20th-century Australian judges 21st-century Australian judges 20th-century women judges 21st-century women judges 20th-century Australian women