Supreme Court

13 November 2002 - Appointment of Senior Counsel by the Hon David K Malcolm AC CitWA Chief Justice of Western Australia

The Chief Justice today announced the appointment of six barristers as Senior Counsel in Western Australia. Applications for appointment closed on 31 August 2002. This year there were 32 applications which is a new record. Following the closure of the applications, the Chief Justice has undertaken an intensive period of consultation, including consultations with the Judges and Masters of the Supreme Court, the Judges of the Federal Court in Western Australia, the Chief Judge of the Family Court of WA, the Chief Judge of the District Court, the President of the Industrial Relations Commission, the Chief Stipendiary Magistrate, the Solicitor General, the President of the Law Society of WA, the President of the WA Bar Association, the President of the Women Lawyers' Association and nominated representatives of existing Queen's Counsel and Senior Counsel.

The appointment of Senior Counsel is made only on the basis that, in the opinion of a substantial majority of those consulted by the Chief Justice, the candidate meets the published criteria for appointment in Practice Direction No 1 of 2001, namely, eminence in the practice of the law, especially in advocacy; unquestioned integrity; availability; and independence. They rank in order of precedence in accordance with the respective dates upon which they were first admitted to practice.

The persons appointed are:

Peter M'Callum Dowding

Mr Dowding was born at Melbourne on 6 October 1943 and educated at Caulfield Grammar School (Victoria), the Scots College (NSW) and Hale School in Western Australia. He was admitted to practice in Western Australian in 1966 and became a partner in the firm of Paterson & Dowding in 1968 and was the senior partner of the firm from 1977 until 1980. He commenced practice at the Independent Bar in 1980. He was a member of the Legislative Council for the North Province from 1980 - 1986; Minister for Mines, Fuel and Energy 1983, Minister for Employment and Training, Industrial Relations and Consumer Affairs 1984-1986 and held a series of ministerial portfolios between 1986 and 1988 when he became Premier of Western Australia. He was admitted as a solicitor in New South Wales in 1990 and became a partner in the firm of Briggs Paul Dowding in Sydney 1992-1994 and managing partner of the DCH Legal Group 1993-1996. Since 1996 he has practised exclusively as a barrister at the Independent Bar specialising in Family Law.

Gregory Malcolm Grant McIntyre

Mr McIntyre was born at Three Springs on 2 May 1952 and educated at Marist College, Churchlands and the University of Western Australia. He was admitted to practice in Western Australia in February 1976, in Queensland as a solicitor in 1980 and as a barrister in Queensland in 1993. He has also been a registered migration agent since 1993. Following the completion of his articles with the former Crown Law Department in 1975, he was employed by the Aboriginal Legal Service of WA from 1976 to 1978. In 1979 he was a Community Development Advisor to the Warburton Aboriginal Community and later undertook research at the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies and worked as a research lawyer in the Commonwealth parliamentary library. He was retained as a solicitor for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Legal Services of Queensland in 1981-82 and for the Njiku Jowan Legal Service in Cairns in 1983 and 1984. From 1984 to 1988 he practised in Cairns as McIntyre & Co, Solicitors, before rejoining the Aboriginal Legal Service of WA as Principal Legal Officer in June 1990.

In July 1991, he was employed as a solicitor with Corser & Corser and became an associate in July 1992 until he joined the Independent Bar in March 1993. Between 1985 and 1988 he was both Secretary and President of the Far North Queensland Law Association and a member of the Family Law Committee of the Queensland Law Society from 1987-1988. He has been an active member of the Law Society having been a member of the Legal Aid Committee in 1989 and a member of the Equal Opportunity Committee since 1989 and its convenor since 1990. He has been a member of the Administrative Law Committee since 1989 and was convenor of the Law Week Committee from 1990 to 1993. He has been an active member of the West Australian Division of the National Environmental Law Association and was secretary/treasurer from 1991 to 1993 and Vice President since 1993. He was the Western Australian editor of the Australian Environmental Law News from 1991 to 1992 and has been National President of the Association since 1993. He has been a member of the Courts' Criminal Practice and Procedure Committee since 1989 and an active member of the International Commission of Jurists (Western Australian Branch) since 1992 and is currently Vice President. He served as a member of the Chief Justice's task force on gender bias in 1993-1994. He has published extensively in the area of Aboriginal land rights and presented numerous papers in this area and appeared in most of the major Aboriginal land rights cases in Queensland and Western Australia since the mid-1980s. He has also frequently appeared in the criminal jurisdiction both at first instance and on appeal and had many appearances before the Federal Court, Family Court and a range of Tribunals.

Jane Crisford

Ms Crisford was born on 16 February 1955 and was educated at St Mary's Church of England Girls' School and the Law School at the University of Western Australia where she obtained her degrees of Bachelor of Jurisprudence and Bachelor of Laws and was admitted to practice in Western Australia in 1978. Following the completion of her restricted practice year, she was employed as a solicitor at Parker & Parker and subsequently became a partner in the firm of Key & Crisford in 1981 which was the first all female legal partnership established in Western Australia. In 1985, she joined the Aboriginal Legal Service as officer in charge of the West Kimberley office. She appeared for Aboriginal people in criminal matters in all courts. The highlight of her seven years with the ALS was being asked to head up the Royal Commission unit for the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. Over the next three years, she appeared as counsel for over 30 Aboriginal families. In 1988, she became a partner in Dwyer Durack and gained experience in civil litigation and family law, becoming head of the family law section, established a Women's Law Unit and an accredited Family Law specialist in 1997.

Ms Crisford has practised exclusively as a barrister since 1998. Since then she has undertaken a substantial amount of work in the Family Court of Western Australia and the Full Court of the Family Court of Australia and has developed a very substantial Family Law practice. She has been actively involved in the mentoring programme of the Law Society. Ms Crisford is a member of the Council of the Western Australian Bar Association and a member of the Association's Equal Opportunity Sub Committee. She is also an elected member of the Legal Practice Board where she is a member of four separate committees and a member of the Disciplinary Tribunal. She has also been an active member of the Women's Lawyers Association and the Family Law Practitioners' Association.

Edwin Michael Corboy

Mr Corboy was born on 10 December 1952. He graduated from the University of Western Australia with the degrees of Bachelor of Economics in 1973 and Bachelor of Jurisprudence in 1980, both with Honours. He was appointed a part time lecturer in economics at Curtin University in 1974 and in 1975-1976 he was a Research Associate in economics at the University of Edinburgh. From 1977 - 1980 he was a part time lecturer in economics at Curtin University. He served his articles at Warren McDonald French and Harrison in 1981 and was admitted to practice in December 1981. After completing his restricted practice year in 1982, he was admitted as a partner in the firm in January 1983. From 1985 to 1987 he was employed as a solicitor with Mallesons Stephen Jaques and admitted as a partner in that firm in July 1987. In that year, he was admitted to practice in New South Wales, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory. In 1996 he retired from the law firm and commenced to practise at the Independent Bar. At that stage he had been a member of the firm's national board of partners and head of the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Group in the Perth office. For a lengthy period he had been retained to advise the Director of Public Prosecutions of Western Australia and the Australian Securities Commission on many of the criminal and civil proceedings commenced following the special investigation into the affairs of Rothwells Ltd undertaken by Mr M J McCusker QC.

Since joining the Independent Bar, he has been involved as junior counsel in the Bell litigation, the trial of which is expected to commence in mid 2003. Mr Corboy regularly appears in medical negligence cases and Medical Board inquiries and for insurers of legal practitioners and accountants. He has also been regularly instructed by the Australian Government Solicitor and various firms in trade practices, tax and stamp duty cases, the Australian Securities and Investment Commission and the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, as well as in a variety of Corporations Law matters. He has appeared pro bono in the Federal Court on immigration appeals. He frequently appears against Queen's Counsel. He has served on the Law Society's Ethics Committee for a number of years and is currently the convenor. He is a member of the council of the Bar Association, a member of the Trade Practices Committee of the Law Council of Australia and a section editor for the Trade Practices Journal.

George Thomas Warren Tannin

Mr Tannin was born on 23 June 1954. He was educated at Newlands School in Coburg, Victoria and graduated with his Bachelor of Jurisprudence and Bachelor of Laws degrees from the University of Western Australia in 1979. He was articled to the State Crown Solicitor and admitted to practice on 23 December 1981. In the early 1980s and until 1992, first as Assistant Crown Counsel and later as Senior Assistant Crown Counsel, he regularly conducted major civil litigation including personal injuries, medical negligence, workers' compensation, industrial law, mining law, town planning law, administrative law, commercial arbitration and trade practices disputes involving the State and its instrumentalities. In addition, he advised and appeared as leading counsel in major criminal trials and appeals involving almost every facet of criminal law including fraud, homicide and other serious violent crimes, sexual offences and official corruption.

In 1992 he joined the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions at the time of its creation. As a Senior Crown Prosecutor, his practice as counsel involved appearing as an advocate in the most difficult criminal matters. He appeared as leading counsel in the most complex and important cases within the office, including prosecuting a complete range of the most serious crimes. He has regularly appeared as counsel before the Court of Criminal Appeal. As the Senior Crown Prosecutor within the office of the Director, he was a member of the Executive, chairing various advisory committees.

In 1997 Mr Tannin rejoined the Crown Solicitor's Office as Senior Assistant Crown Counsel in 1997. He has frequently appeared as leading counsel for the State and its instrumentalities in a broad range of cases. In 1997, he was appointed as Counsel Assisting Mr Geoffrey Miller QC (as he then was) in the first Anti Corruption Commission special investigation. In 1998 he was appointed a Special Investigator by the Anti Corruption Commission. He conducted a major investigation into police corruption. On 2 March 1999 he was appointed Acting Crown Counsel and formally appointed to that office on 11 February 2000. He has appeared as leading counsel for the Crown both at trial and appellate levels in the Supreme Court, the Full Court, the Federal Court and the High Court of Australia.

The role of Crown Counsel involves the provision of high level legal advice and appearances on behalf of a range of officers and agencies of the Crown, including the Premier, the Cabinet, the Attorney General and Ministers as well as their respective departments.

Antony Nicholas Siopis

Mr Siopis was born at Johannesburg, South Africa, on 8 July 1948 and educated at the Christian Brothers' College at Kimberley from 1959 to 1965. He spent a year as an American Field Service exchange student at a school in Washington DC in 1966-1967. In 1972, he graduated from Rhodes University, South Africa, with degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws. In 1974, he went on to Oxford University where he obtained his BA in Jurisprudence with first class honours in 1976 and the Bachelor of Civil Law degree in 1977. He was admitted to practice as an advocate of the Supreme Court of South Africa in 1973, a solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales in 1980, a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Western Australia in 1985, a solicitor of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong in 1988 and a barrister and solicitor in South Australia in 1992. Prior to attending Oxford University, he practised in civil and criminal law, spending most of his time as counsel for the defence in criminal cases. He also undertook civil work in Family Law, personal injuries and Corporate Law. He served his articles in England at Baker & McKenzie in London and then spent two years in the litigation department of the firm. In 1982, he joined the Department of Management at the University of Western Australia as a lecturer in commercial law. He joined Parker & Parker as a solicitor in 1985 and became a partner in 1986. In 1992, he was appointed in-house counsel and practised exclusively in the commercial litigation section working in the areas of administrative law, banking, commercial law, corporate law, defamation, equity, industrial law, liquor licensing, real property, law mining and trade practices. He appeared in many of the major cases in the late 1980s and early 1990s and in particular the litigation arising out of the Kwinana Petrochemical Project. In July 1995, he joined the Independent Bar and has practised solely as a barrister since then. He has since appeared in a substantial number of complex and significant commercial cases. In 2001 he acted as Counsel Assisting the Royal Commission inquiring into the Activities of Finance Brokers.