Appointment of Justice Steward and Justice Gleeson to the High Court of Australia.

The Law Society of NSW congratulates the Honourable Justice Simon Steward and the Honourable Justice Jacqueline Gleeson on the announcement today of their appointment as Justices of the High Court of Australia.

Justice Steward and Justice Gleeson will respectively fill the vacancies that will arise upon the retirements of the Honourable Justice Geoffrey Nettle AC on 30 November 2020 and the Honourable Justice Virginia Bell AC on 28 February 2021.

Justice Gleeson graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Arts in 1986 and a Bachelor of Laws in 1989. She began practising at the New South Wales Bar in 1991. Justice Gleeson left the Bar in late 2000 to practise as a solicitor, firstly with the Australian Broadcasting Authority and later the Australian Government Solicitor, before returning to the Bar in 2007. Justice Gleeson completed a Master of Laws at the University of Sydney in 2005 and was appointed Senior Counsel in 2012. She was appointed as a Judge of the Federal Court in 2014.

Justice Steward completed a Bachelor of Laws (First Class Honours) in 1990 and a Masters of Law in 2000, at the University of Melbourne. He was admitted to practice as a legal practitioner of the Supreme Court of Victoria in 1992 and signed the High Court Roll in the same year. Justice Steward was called to the Victorian Bar in 1999 and was appointed Silk in 2009. In 2009 he commenced as a Senior Fellow in the Faculty of Law at the University of Melbourne. He was appointed as a Judge of the Federal Court of Australia in 2017 and commenced his career on the Bench in 2018.

President of the Law Society of NSW, Richard Harvey, described the new appointments as a tremendous accomplishment for both Justice Gleeson and Justice Steward.

“I have no doubt that both His Honour Justice Steward and Her Honour Justice Gleeson will discharge their duties on the High Court with the great integrity, wisdom, diligence and dedication to the rule of law for which they are both renowned and respected,” Mr Harvey said.

“I wish them well in their new role serving the Australian community from the bench of the High Court.”

Mr Harvey also acknowledged the significant contribution that Justice Nettle and Justice Bell have made to the administration of justice over the course of their distinguished careers and wished them well in their future endeavours.