Patrick Keane (born 1952) is the Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Australia.
Chief Justice Keane was educated at St. Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace, the University of Queensland and at Magdalen College of the University of Oxford. While at Oxford, he was awarded the Vinerian Scholarship, a scholarship given to the student that "gives the best performance in the examination for the Degree of Bachelor of Civil Law".[1]
Keane went to the bar in 1978, took silk in 1988, was appointed Solicitor-General for the State of Queensland in 1992. In 2005, Keane was appointed a Judge of Appeal of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Queensland, the highest court in the Australian State of Queensland.[2] On 10 February 2010, Attorney-General Robert McClelland announced that Keane would be appointed as the next Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Australia.[3] On 22 March 2010, Keane took up his current role as Chief Justice of the Federal Court. [4]
Chief Justice Keane has published a number of articles,[5] and has been mentioned as a possible appointee to the High Court of Australia.[6][7]