James Allsop

The Honourable Chief Justice James Allsop AO
Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Australia
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 March 2013
Appointed by	Dame Quentin Bryce
Preceded by	Patrick Keane
President of the New South Wales Court of Appeal
In office 1 June 2008 – 28 February 2013
Preceded by	Keith Mason
Succeeded by	Margaret Beazley
Personal details
Born	April 1953 (1953-04) (age 65) Sydney, New South Wales
Nationality	Australian
Alma mater	University of Sydney

James Leslie Bain Allsop AO (born April 1953) is an Australian judge. He has been the Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Australia since March 2013. He was previously President of the New South Wales Court of Appeal, where he presided from 2 June 2008 to 28 February 2013.^[1]

Education

Allsop attended Sydney Grammar School and completed year 12 in 1970. Allsop then graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Arts in 1974 and a Bachelor of Laws in 1980. He won the University Medal in law.^[2]

Career

Allsop was admitted to the New South Wales Bar in 1981, and was appointed Senior Counsel in 1994. He was appointed Queen's Counsel in Western Australia in 1998.

From 2001–08, Allsop was a judge of the Federal Court of Australia. He has also served as an additional Judge of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory (2003–08). Allsop was appointed the President of the New South Wales Court of Appeal on 2 June 2008.^[2]

On 20 November 2012, Commonwealth Attorney-General Nicola Roxon announced Allsop would be appointed Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Australia.

Allsop is also an adjunct professor at the University of Sydney, where he specialises in international admiralty and maritime law.

Honours

Allsop was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2013 for distinguished service to the judiciary and the law, as a judge, through reforms to equity and access, and through contributions to the administration of maritime law and legal education.^[3]

References