Maurice Blackburn Lawyers, (formerly Maurice Blackburn & Co and Maurice Blackburn Cashman), was founded in 1919 by
Maurice Blackburn
Maurice McCrae Blackburn (19 November 1880 – 31 March 1944) was an Australian politician and socialist lawyer, noted for his protection of the interests of workers and the establishment of the legal firm known as Maurice Blackburn Lawyers.
...
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The firm is an Australian plaintiff law firm, having represented clients in a number of high-profile cases since its establishment.
Major cases
Since its establishment Maurice Blackburn Lawyers have acted in a number of cases, including:
* The 40-Hour Working Week Case – in conjunction with the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) Maurice Blackburn fought for shorter working hours;
*
MUA Waterfront Dispute Case – represented maritime workers against the Commonwealth Government during the waterfront dispute in 1998;
* The GIO Class Action – the first shareholder class action win in Australian legal history;
* Centro Class Action – the biggest shareholder class action settlement in Australian legal history;
*
Black Saturday bushfires
The Black Saturday bushfires were a series of bushfires that either ignited or were already burning across the Australian state of Victoria. Saturday, 7 February 2009 was one of Australia's all-time worst bushfire disasters. The fires occurred ...
Class Actions – collectively the largest class action settlement in Australian history at $794 million ($494 million in the Kinglake class action and $300 million in the Marysville class action);
*
Mohammed Haneef Case – defended Dr. Haneef against false charges of terrorism in 2010 and later acted on his behalf in a defamation matter;
* The Gene Patent BRCA1 Case – a ruling that saw the High Court rule that a mutated gene that causes cancer cannot be subject to a patent under Australian law.
Current notable staff
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Josh Bornstein
Former notable staff
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Maurice McRae Blackburn, founder, former Labor and Independent Labor MP
*
James Burke, former Northern Territory politician
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Terri Butler
Terri Megan Butler (born 28 November 1977) is an Australian public servant and former politician. She was a member of the House of Representatives from 2014 to 2022, representing the seat of Griffith for the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She wor ...
, former federal Labor MP
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John Button, former Labor Senator for Victoria
*
John Cain John Cain may refer to:
* John Cain (34th Premier of Victoria) (1882–1957), Australian politician
* John Cain (41st Premier of Victoria) (1931–2019), Australian politician, son of the above
** John Cain Arena, sports arena in Melbourne, Austral ...
, former Victorian Government Solicitor
*
Enver Erdogan
Enver Erdogan is an Australian politician and Victorian Government Minister. He has been a Australian Labor Party (Victorian Branch), Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Council since August 2019, representing Southern Metropolitan R ...
, Victorian politician
*
Nita Green
Nita Louise Green (born 23 June 1983) is an Australian politician who was elected as a Senator for Queensland
Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the ...
, Senator for Queensland
*Justice
Bernard Murphy, Justice of the Federal Court of Australia
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Nicholas Reece
Nicholas Reece (born 1974) is an Australian politician and policy activist, currently serving as the 105th Lord Mayor of the City of Melbourne. He is a senior executive at the University of Melbourne and a principal fellow at the Melbourne Scho ...
, Lord Mayor of Melbourne
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Nicola Roxon
Nicola Louise Roxon (born 1 April 1967) is an Australian former politician. After politics, she has worked as a company director and academic.
Roxon represented the lower house seat of Gellibrand in Victoria for the Australian Labor Party; ...
, former Commonwealth Attorney-General and former federal Labor MP
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Bill Shorten
William Richard Shorten (born 12 May 1967) is an Australian former politician and trade unionist. He was the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and Leader of the Opposition (Australia), Leader of the Opposition from 2013 to 2019. He also ...
, former federal Labor MP and Minister
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Bill Slater, politician and founder of the law firm
Slater and Gordon Lawyers
Slater & Gordon Lawyers is a law firm in Australia. The firm was founded in Melbourne, Victoria, in 1935 by a barrister and solicitor from Irymple, Victoria, Hugh Lyons Gordon, and Labor politician Bill Slater. Since April 2023, the law firm ha ...
*
Murray Watt
Murray Patrick Watt (born 20 January 1973) is an Australian politician who has served as Minister for the Environment and Water in the Albanese government since May 2025. He is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and has been a Senat ...
, Labor Senator and former Queensland Labor MP
*
Anika Wells
Anika Shay Wells (born 11 August 1985) is an Australian politician who has been a member of the Australian House of Representatives, House of Representatives since the 2019 Australian federal election, 2019 federal election. She is a member of t ...
, federal Labor MP
References
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External links
Maurice Blackburn: Official website
Law firms of Australia
Australian labour movement
Law firms established in 1919