1984 Menzies Scholar in Law

Education
Arts and Law degrees (both with Hons), University of Melbourne (1982)
Articled Clerk (1983)
Masters degree in Civil Law, Oxford University (1984)

Currently
Mallesons Stephen Jaques, Brisbane:
- Managing Partner (Performance & Quality)
- Partner, Dispute Resolution Clients

Specialises in advising on major infrastructure, construction, joint venture and M&A disputes, commercial contracts, telecommunications, trade practices and torts (including defamation)

Other awards and achievements
Named as one of Australia's leading commercial litigation lawyers in Euromoney's Guide to the World's Leading Litigation Lawyers. Also named as one of Australia's leading experts in commercial arbitration in Euromoney's Guide to the World's Leading Experts in Commercial Arbitration.

Career history/highlights
1991-1997: Partner, Mallesons Stephen Jaques, Melbourne
1998-2003: Partner in Charge, Mallesons Stephen Jaques, Brisbane
Specialist Accreditation in Mediation from the LIV
Accredited mediator on the LEADR Advanced Panel and from the Queensland Law Society

Professional/Other affiliations
- Media and Communications Subcommittee of Business Law Section of Law Council of Australia
- Insolvency Practitioners Association of Australia, Associate Member
- Queensland Law Society, NSW Law Society, Law Institute of Victoria

Areas of Professional Interest
Banking and finance related matters, telecommunications, trade practices, contracts, professional negligence and torts (including defamation).

[April 2004]

2006 Menzies Memorial Scholar in the Allied Health Sciences

Anna Dawson holds a Postgraduate Diploma in International Health from Curtin University and a Bachelor of Applied Science (Physiotherapy) from the University of South Australia.

Anna's PhD project is entitled "Investigating predictive factors for low back pain and neck pain in nurses: a prospective study" and will be carried out at the University of Queensland.

1993 Menzies Scholar in Law

I was born in Bombay, India. Shortly after my birth, my parents migrated to Melbourne, Australia where I was brought up. I studied law and mechanical engineering as an undergraduate at Monash University.

Upon completion of my degrees in 1991, I spent a year and a half working at Mallesons Stephen Jaques. While at Mallesons, I was exposed to a variety of areas but spent the last few months there working with the intellectual property/trade practices/ telecommunications group. 

I won the Menzies Scholarship in Law in 1992 and commenced a two year BCL at Oxford in September 1993. While at Oxford, I developed a strong interest in international affairs and, particularly, international trade. 

I returned to Melbourne shortly after I completed my BCL and took up a position at Maddock Lonie & Chisholm as a construction and engineering lawyer. I was involved in a number of international matters while at Maddocks including assisting the Vietnamese government with the development of construction and planning laws, an arbitration based in Malaysia and a multi-million dollar construction dispute in India. These matters heightened my interest in international affairs. 

After two years at Maddock's, I decided to pursue this interest and commenced a Masters in Private and Public Management at Yale University focusing on international affairs and trade during my second year. 

My experiences at Oxford and Yale have proved enriching and eye-opening and have significantly broadened my horizons. 

2003 Menzies Scholar in Law

Education
BCL, Oxford
LLB (H1), Monash University (2001)
BA, Monash University (1998)

Currently
Barrister, Victorian Bar

Career history
Associate to the Chief Justice, High Court of Australia

[June 2007]

2004 Menzies Scholar in Allied Health Sciences

Education
BAppSc(Physiotherapy) and GradDip (Health Research), La Trobe University.
PhD project: "Walking patterns in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy".

Areas of Professional Interest
PhD study: To develop a reliable classification for clinicians to better identify and treat walking disorders; By collaborating with La Trobe University, the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and Victoria’s Royal Children’s Hospital, aims to provide the first population-based classification of hemiplegic walking patterns and to explore health-related quality of life measures in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy.

Current position
Research Physiotherapist and Senior Clinical Physiotherapist at the Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne.

Professional/Other affiliations
World Wide Funds for Native Australia

Family/Recreation/Interests
Married with children; Cycling around Melbourne and Victoria.

07-Sep-2004

1997 Menzies Scholar in Law

Education
Law, University of Melbourne between 1991 and 1995.
Articles of clerkship, London
DPhil, Oxford

Other awards and achievements
Supreme Court Prize, University of Melbourne

Currently
Barrister (from 2001)

Previously
Associate to Justice Hayne, High Court of Australia (2000–2001)
Solicitor for Minter Ellison until I received the Menzies Scholarship in 1997

Areas of Professional Interest
My main areas of interest are constitutional, administrative, international and criminal law. My DPhil involved an examination of the evidential and procedural issues that arise from commissions of inquiry (such as Royal Commissions, the Independent Commission Against Corruption and the National Crime Authority) into criminal activity. In particular, I examined the impact on the fairness of a criminal trial following such a Commission, and the procedural rights that are available to individuals investigated by a Commission, both of which have been contentious issues in Australia and the United Kingdom. 

Publications
Royal Commissions and Permanent Commissions of Inquiry (Butterworths 2001).
Numerous articles in leading journals in the public and commercial law fields.

Family/Recreation/Interests
My life in Oxford was devoted largely to study, rowing and Middle Common Room activities. My wife (who lectured in Law at Exeter College, Oxford) and I enjoyed living in the UK.