Kevin O'Leary (judge)

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Kevin Frederick O'Leary QC (19 February 1920 - ) was the second Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory. He was appointed to that position on 12 September 1985 after James Muirhead had acted in the position following the relocation to Perth of the Territory's first Chief Justice Sir William Forster earlier that year.

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[edit] Education and early life

Chief Justice O'Leary was born in Sydney, New South Wales and attended the Christian Brothers' High School, Lewisham. He commenced studying law at the University of Sydney and joined the Australian Imperial Forces in 1940 and the Royal Australian Air Force in 1942. After the war ended, he returned to studying and eventually graduated with Honours in 1948 and was admitted to practice the following year.

[edit] Legal Career and other interests

Chief Justice O'Leary practised as a barrister and solicitor in Sydney and established the firm of Colreavy and O'Leary. He was called to the Bar in 1957 and relocated to the Australian Capital Territory where he served with distinction.

He has held many important roles during his career. He lectured in Practice and Procedure and the Australian National University from 1964 - 1982. He was Vice-President of the Law Society of the Australian Capital Territory from 1965 - 1967 and its President from 1967 - 1970. He was a member of the Executive of the Law Council of Australia from 1969 - 1976, its Vice President from 1972 - 1974 and its President from 1974 - 1976. He was the first Chair of the Australian Legal Education Council from 1977 - 1981 and was the Founding Director of the Legal Workshop at the Faculty of Law at the Australian National University from 1971 to 1982. He was elected an Honorary Member of the American Bar Association in 1976.

Chief Justice O'Leary was appointed as an Acting Judge of the National Court of Papua New Guinea in 1976 and as an Acting Judge of the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory in 1982. That appointment was made permanent in 1983. He was elevated to the position of Chief Justice in 1985. He resigned in 1987 due to ill-health and relocated to Western Australia. He now lives in Canberra. He was appointed as a Queen's Counsel in the Northern Territory immediately following his retirement.

[edit] External links

[edit] Publications

  • Principles of Practice and Procedure (w A E Hogan) (1976)
  • Supreme Court Civil Procedure (1987)
Preceded by
Sir William Forster		 Chief Justice of the Northern Territory
1985 - 1987		 Succeeded by
Austin Asche
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