Michael Bryan Joshua Lee (born 1 June 1965) is an Australian jurist and former barrister who has served as a judge of the

Federal Court of Australia The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law (with the exception of family law matters), along with some summary (less serious) and indictable (mo ...

since 27 March 2017, in the Sydney Registry of the Court. He is a National Coordinating Judge in both the Commercial and Corporations National Practice Area and the Defamation sub-area in the Other Federal Jurisdiction National Practice Area. His Honour is also a long admirer of the Arts, including a tenure as Director of the

Bell Shakespeare Company Bell Shakespeare is an Australian theatre company specialising in the works of William Shakespeare, his contemporaries and other classics. Founded by actor John Bell and based in Sydney, it is Australia's only national theatre company. Apart f ...

Education

Lee was born in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

in 1965 but was raised in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

where he attended Marist Brothers' High School, Eastwood. Lee graduated in law from the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

Career

Lee commenced work as a

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

in 1989 with Corrs Chambers Westgarth, he was made a Senior Associate in 1992 and then appointed the firms youngest partner in 1995. He eventually became Senior Litigation Partner and National Practice Group Leader before being called to the bar. He went to the New South Wales Bar in 2002 and

took silk A King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarch is a woman, the title is Qu ...

in 2011. He was counsel for the John Marsden Australian defamation case, and the Australian political assassination case of Phuong Ngo. While at the Bar, Lee primarily appeared in Sydney and Melbourne, but also conducted cases in every superior State and Territory Court throughout the Commonwealth. He was appointed to the Federal Court in 2017 and is also an Additional Judge of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory. He is the section editor for the ''

Australian Law Journal The ''Australian Law Journal'' is an Australian peer-reviewed law journal which has been publishing since 1927. Studies have found that it is one of the most cited Australian law journals. A 2002 study found that while on the Federal Court of A ...

'' section on class actions and is a Fellow of the University of Melbourne.

Publications and seminars

''Varying Funding Agreements and Freedom of Contract: Some Observations'' by The Hon Justice Lee (IMF Bentham Class Actions Research Initiative with UNSW Law: ''Resolving Class Actions Effectively and Fairly''), 1 June 2017

''Certification of Class Actions: A 'Solution' in Search of a Problem?'' by The Hon Justice Lee (A paper presented to the Commercial Law Association Seminar "Class Actions – Different Perspectives"), 20 October 2017

''Case Management & Insolvency: Matching Rhetoric & Reality'', by The Hon Justice Lee (Key Note Speech at the Association of Independent Insolvency Practitioners Annual Conference), 28 June 2019

''Public Confidence, Apprehended Bias, and the Modern Federal Judiciary'' (AAL/ALRC Seminar), Judicial Impartiality eNews, February 2021

''Washington Diaries of Owen Dixon: Review by Justice Lee'', Southern Highlands Newsletter #241, March 2021

References

External links

Commercial and Corporations National Practice Area

Other Federal Jurisdiction National Practice Area
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Michael 21st-century Australian lawyers Judges of the Federal Court of Australia Living people 21st-century Australian judges Lawyers from Perth, Western Australia Lawyers from Sydney 1965 births 20th-century Australian lawyers University of Sydney alumni Australian Senior Counsel People educated at Marist College Eastwood

Education

Career

Publications and seminars

See also

References

External links