Jacqueline Sarah Gleeson (born 7 March 1966) is an Australian judge. She has been a Justice of the

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Australia's Constitution. The High Court was established following passage of the '' Judiciary Act 1903''. ...

since 1 March 2021, and was a judge of the

Federal Court of Australia The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court of record which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law (with the exception of family law matters), along with some summary (less serious) and indic ...

, based in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

, from April 2014 to February 2021.

Early life and education

Gleeson is the eldest of four children of former

Chief Justice of Australia The Chief Justice of Australia is the presiding Justice of the High Court of Australia and the highest-ranking judicial officer in the Commonwealth of Australia. The incumbent is Susan Kiefel, who is the first woman to hold the position. C ...

Murray Gleeson Anthony Murray Gleeson (born 30 August 1938) is an Australian former judge who served as the 11th Chief Justice of Australia, in office from 1998 to 2008. Gleeson was born in Wingham, New South Wales, and studied law at the University of Sydn ...

and Robyn Gleeson. Speaking about her upbringing, Gleeson stated that "my wellbeing and development was my mother's job and she can justly take credit for any success of mine". She was educated at Monte Sant'Angelo Mercy College and attended

Sancta Sophia College, University of Sydney Sancta Sophia College (colloquially as Sancta) is a residential college for undergraduate women and postgraduate men and women at the University of Sydney. The college has a Catholic foundation but admits students of all religions. Fiona Hasting ...

, where she completed a Bachelor of Arts in 1986 and a Bachelor of Laws in 1989.

Career

Gleeson was admitted as a lawyer in 1989, and worked as an associate to Justice Trevor Morling of the Federal Court and then as a solicitor for Bush Burke & Company. Gleeson was admitted as a barrister in 1991. In 2000, she left the Bar to work as general counsel for the

Australian Broadcasting Authority The Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA) was an Australian government agency whose main roles were to regulate broadcasting, radiocommunications and telecommunications. The Authority took over the functions of the Australian Broadcasting Trib ...

and then from 2003 a senior executive lawyer for the

Australian Government Solicitor The Australian Government Solicitor (AGS) is an Australian public servant and a federal government agency of the same name which provides legal advice to the federal government and its agencies. AGS was originally the Crown Solicitor's Office, ...

. She completed a Master of Laws from the University of Sydney in 2005, before returning to the Bar in 2007. She gained

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 ...

status in 2012. Her practice specialised in administrative law, competition and consumer law, professional liability, disciplinary proceedings and taxation. Gleeson represented the New South Wales government at the

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 ...

, and represented QBE Insurance in the Canberra bushfires litigation in 2013, then the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding township#Aust ...

's largest ever civil case.

Federal Court

Gleeson was appointed to the Federal Court by

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

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 ...

on 15 April 2014, replacing retired Justice Dennis Cowdroy. Gleeson has sat on a number of high-profile cases, dismissing claims against the

Australian Securities and Investments Commission The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is an independent commission of the Australian Government tasked as the national corporate regulator. ASIC's role is to regulate company and financial services and enforce laws to pro ...

brought by clients of Storm Financial that alleged that the regulator should have taken action to prevent their loss. Gleeson held that a company promoting a scheme "how to buy a house for $1" had engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct. Gleeson was a member of the Full Court of the Federal Court that unanimously upheld an appeal by the

Australian Defence Force The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of the Commonwealth of Australia and its national interests. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Fo ...

, finding that the ADF had not breached the implied freedom of political communication when it terminated Gaynor's commission in the army reserve after he expressed anti-homosexual and anti-Islamic views. The High Court refused special leave to appeal against the decision.

High Court

On 28 October 2020, Prime Minister

Scott Morrison Scott John Morrison (; born 13 May 1968) is an Australian politician. He served as the 30th prime minister of Australia and as Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia from 2018 to 2022, and is currently the member of parliament (MP) for th ...

and Attorney-General

Christian Porter Charles Christian Porter (born 11 July 1970) is an Australian former politician and lawyer who served as the 37th Attorney-General of Australia from 2017 to 2021 in the Turnbull government and the subsequent Morrison government. He was a Me ...

announced that Gleeson and Simon Steward would be appointed to the

to fill the vacancies caused by upcoming retirements of

Geoffrey Nettle Geoffrey Arthur Akeroyd Nettle (born 2 December 1950) is a former Justice of the High Court of Australia, the highest court in the Australian court hierarchy, who served from 3 February 2015 to 30 November 2020. Prior to his appointment to the ...

and Virginia Bell. She began her term on 1 March 2021 in succession to Bell.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gleeson, Jacqueline 1966 births Living people Justices of the High Court of Australia Judges of the Federal Court of Australia Australian women judges Australian Senior Counsel University of Sydney alumni People educated at Monte Sant'Angelo Mercy College Sydney Law School alumni

Early life and education

Career

Federal Court

High Court

See also

References