Kristen Walker is an Australian lawyer. She is a judge in the Court of Appeal of Victoria and former

Solicitor-General of Victoria The Solicitor-General of Victoria, known informally as the Solicitor-General, is the state's Second Law Officer and the deputy of the Attorney-General. The Solicitor-General acts alongside the Crown Advocate and Crown Solicitor, and serves as o ...

Early life

Walker's father was a barrister, and she had no intent of following his footsteps. She initially enrolled in engineering, before transferring to a double degree of science and law.

Lawyer

Following her studies at the

Melbourne Law School Melbourne Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of the University of Melbourne. Located in Carlton, Victoria, Melbourne Law School is Australia's oldest law school, and offers Juris Doctor, J.D., Master of Laws, LL.M, Doctor of P ...

, Walker was admitted as a barrister and solicitor in 1993. She became a

judge's associate A judge's associate is an individual who provides assistance to a judge or court. In Australia, a judge's associate (not to be confused with a tipstaff) is a recent law graduate or lawyer who performs various duties to assist a specific judge, s ...

at the

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is the apex court of the Australian legal system. It exercises original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified in the Constitution of Australia and supplementary legislation. The High Court was establi ...

to Sir Anthony Mason, who was the

Chief Justice of Australia The chief justice of Australia is the presiding justice of the High Court of Australia and the highest-ranking judicial officer in the Commonwealth of Australia. The incumbent is Stephen Gageler, since 6 November 2023. Constitutional basis Th ...

. She received a Master of Laws from

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

and

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (CLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Columbia University, a Private university, private Ivy League university in New York City. The school was founded in 1858 as the Columbia College Law School. The un ...

in New York and worked as an academic in the US and at the University of Melbourne. She has taught and been published in areas of international, constitutional and human rights law. Walker was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

in 2004 and was appointed as a

queen's counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in 2014. Walker was appointed as

solicitor-General of Victoria The Solicitor-General of Victoria, known informally as the Solicitor-General, is the state's Second Law Officer and the deputy of the Attorney-General. The Solicitor-General acts alongside the Crown Advocate and Crown Solicitor, and serves as o ...

in 2017. She was appointed to the

Victorian Court of Appeal The Supreme Court of Victoria is the highest court in the Australian state of Victoria. Founded in 1852, it is a superior court of common law and equity, with unlimited and inherent jurisdiction within the state. The Supreme Court comprise ...

with effect from 3 May 2021. Her appointment was announced on 13 April 2021.

Personal details

Walker and her partner Miranda Stewart (a professor at the Melbourne Law School) have one son.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Kristen Living people Judges of the Supreme Court of Victoria Solicitors-general of Victoria Australian women lawyers Lawyers from Melbourne Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century Australian lawyers 21st-century Australian judges