Peter Damien Quinlan is the

Chief Justice of Western Australia The Chief Justice of Western Australia is the most senior judge of the Supreme Court of Western Australia and the highest ranking judicial officer in the Australian state of Western Australia. The chief justice is both the judicial head of the Su ...

. His appointment was announced on 1 August 2018, and took effect on 13 August. He was the

Solicitor-General of Western Australia The Solicitor-General of Western Australia, known informally as the Solicitor-General, is the state's Second Law Officer, after the Attorney General who is the state's First Law Officer. The Solicitor-General serves as one of the legal and const ...

from 2016 to 2018. Quinlan attended John XXIII College before studied commerce and law at the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...

; he won the HCF Keall Prize for best final year student. He worked in the Crown Solicitor's Office from 1993 to 1995 as an assistant to the Solicitor General, then again from 1996 working in constitutional and administrative law. In 2001 Quinlan commenced practising as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

. He was appointed Senior Counsel in 2010, and was president of the WA

Bar Association A bar association is a professional association of lawyers as generally organized in countries following the Anglo-American types of jurisprudence. The word bar is derived from the old English/European custom of using a physical railing to separ ...

from 2012 to 2015. He was appointed as Solicitor-General of Western Australia on 1 July 2016. He has also served as director of 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 on the board of governors for the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

Personal life

Quinlan is married with five children. He is the great great grandson of a convict transportee,

Daniel Connor Daniel Connor (1831–12 January 1898) was an Irish convict transported to the colony in western Australia, who would go on to become one of the wealthiest, and most successful men in the region. Daniel Connor was born in County Kerry, Ireland ...

References

External links

The Hon Chief Justice Peter Damien Quinlan
Supreme Court of Western Australia website {{DEFAULTSORT:Quinlan, Peter Living people Australian Senior Counsel Chief Justices of Western Australia Solicitors-General of Western Australia 1970 births University of Western Australia alumni Judges of the Supreme Court of Western Australia 21st-century Australian judges