Michelle Marjorie Gordon (born 19 November 1964) is 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''. ...

. She was appointed to the High Court in June 2015. Prior to her appointment, she was a Justice 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 ...

, to which she was appointed in 2007.

Early life

Gordon was born in

Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

in 1964, to George Gordon and Coral Troy, and received her secondary schooling at

St Mary's Anglican Girls' School , motto_translation = Faithfully , established = 1921 , type = Independent, day and boarding , gender = Girls , denomination = Anglican , principal = Judith Tudball , chaplain ...

and Presbyterian Ladies' College. She graduated from 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 and various other facilitie ...

with 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 ...

(LL.B., B.Juris.).''Who's Who in Australia'', ConnectWeb

Career

Legal career

From 1987, Gordon practised as a solicitor in the Western Australian firm Robinson Cox, and in 1992 was a senior associate at Arthur Robinson & Hedderwicks. In 1992, she became a barrister and in 2003, took silk as a

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 ...

on 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 ...

Judicial career

Gordon was appointed a judge of the

on 20 April 2007. In one judgment, Gordon said that

Coles Supermarkets Coles Supermarkets Australia Pty Ltd, trading as Coles, is an Australian supermarket, retail and consumer services chain, headquartered in Melbourne as part of the Coles Group. Founded in 1914 in Collingwood by George Coles, Coles operates ...

"threatened harm to suppliers if they didn't meet their demands". In 2014, she ruled against ANZ in a class action on credit card fees. ANZ appealed this decision and were successful in overturning her findings at the Full Court of the Federal Court in 2015. The applicant in the class action then appealed to the High Court of Australia, which heard the appeal and handed down the decision ''after'' Gordon was appointed to the High Court (though without her sitting on the appeal). A majority of the High Court dismissed the appeal in 2016, ruling in favour of ANZ. In April 2015, the Abbott Government announced that Justice Gordon would replace her husband,

Kenneth Hayne Kenneth Madison Hayne (born 5 June 1945) is a former Justice of the High Court of Australia, the highest court in the Australian court hierarchy. Early life and education Hayne was born in Gympie, Queensland and attended Scotch College, Melbou ...

, on the bench of the

upon his compulsory retirement on reaching the age of 70. Justice Gordon was sworn in on 9 June 2015.

References

External links

The Hon Michelle Marjorie GORDON
(Federal Court of Australia) {{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Michelle 1964 births Living people Judges of the Federal Court of Australia Justices of the High Court of Australia Companions of the Order of Australia Australian women judges Australian Senior Counsel Australian barristers Australian solicitors Academic staff of the University of Melbourne University of Melbourne women University of Western Australia alumni People from Perth, Western Australia People educated at St Mary's Anglican Girls' School