Former Dean Joins Past Colleagues on Appellate Court

In what may be a first for Australia, three outstanding former Melbourne Law School staff are about to serve on the Victorian Court of Appeal together.

From 1 July 2008, the Hon Justice Julie Dodds-Streeton, the Hon Justice Marcia Neave AO, and the Hon Justice Mark Weinberg will all be members of the Court.

The longest-serving of the trio is Justice Neave (LLB 1966), who was appointed to the Court in 2006. A member of staff for 15 years, Justice Neave left Melbourne Law School in 1985 to take up the position of dean of the University of Adelaide’s Faculty of Law. She subsequently held chairs at Monash University and at the Australian National University before being appointed to the chair of the Victorian Law Reform Commission in 2000.

Justice Dodds-Streeton (LLB 1980), appointed in 2007, taught at the Law School from 1983 to 1992, becoming a barrister in 1988 and a judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria in 2002.

Justice Weinberg is the Court’s newest judge, appointed in April this year. Dean of the Melbourne Law School between 1984 and 1985, he was Commonwealth director of public prosecutions before becoming a judge of the Federal Court in 1998.