Michelle Marjorie Gordon (born 19 November 1964) is a Justice of 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 ...

. She was appointed to the High Court in June 2015. Prior to her appointment, she was a Justice 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 ...

, to which she was appointed in 2007.

Early life

Gordon was born in

Perth, Western Australia 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 1964, to George Gordon and Coral Troy, and received her secondary schooling at St Mary's Anglican Girls' School and Presbyterian Ladies' College. She graduated from the

University of Western Australia University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Crawley, Western Australia, Crawley, a suburb in the City of Perth local government area. UW ...

with a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

(LL.B., B.Juris.).''Who's Who in Australia'', ConnectWeb

Career

Legal career

From 1987, Gordon practised as a solicitor in the Western Australian firm Robinson Cox, and in 1992 was a senior associate at Arthur Robinson & Hedderwicks. In 1992, she became a barrister and in 2003, took silk as a Senior Counsel on the Victorian Bar.

Judicial career

Gordon was appointed a judge of the

on 20 April 2007. In one judgment, Gordon said that

Coles Supermarkets Coles Supermarkets Australia Pty. Ltd., doing business as Coles, is an Australian supermarket, retail and consumer services chain, headquartered in Melbourne as part of Coles Group. Founded in 1914 in the suburb of Collingwood, Victoria, Colli ...

"threatened harm to suppliers if they didn't meet their demands". In 2014, she ruled against ANZ in a class action on credit card fees. ANZ appealed this decision and were successful in overturning her findings at the Full Court of the Federal Court in 2015. The applicant in the class action then appealed to the High Court of Australia, which heard the appeal and handed down the decision ''after'' Gordon was appointed to the High Court (though without her sitting on the appeal). A majority of the High Court dismissed the appeal in 2016, ruling in favour of ANZ. In April 2015, the Abbott Government announced that Justice Gordon would replace her husband, Kenneth Hayne, on the bench of the

upon his compulsory retirement on reaching the age of 70. Justice Gordon was sworn in on 9 June 2015. In 2023, Gordon gave the inaugural Margaret Stone Lecture, a joint initiative of the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...

and Herbert Smith Freehills.

References

External links

The Hon Michelle Marjorie GORDON
(Federal Court of Australia) {{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Michelle 1964 births Living people Judges of the Federal Court of Australia Justices of the High Court of Australia Companions of the Order of Australia 21st-century Australian women judges 21st-century Australian judges Australian Senior Counsel Australian barristers Australian solicitors University of Western Australia alumni Lawyers from Perth, Western Australia People educated at St Mary's Anglican Girls' School