The Queensland Chapter of the Hellenic Australian Lawyers Association was honoured on Friday 26 August with the delivery of the 2016 Clayton Utz Alexander Christy Freeleagus Oration by Susan Kiefel AC, Justice of the High Court of Australia.

The Freeleagus Oration was established in 2015 by the Queensland Chapter of the Association in memory of Mr Freeleagus, who was a prominent Queensland Hellenic lawyer.

Nearly 300 members of the Queensland and interstate legal, consular and Hellenic communities attended this year’s event, held in the Banco Court at the Supreme Court.

Guests included judges of the state and federal courts, representatives of all national, state and territory Bar Associations, practitioners, academics, diplomats, students and other community members.

Ross Perrett, a partner at Clayton Utz, spoke at the Oration about Mr Freeleagus’ life, career and personal attributes in his 39 years of serving as a partner of what is now Clayton Utz.

He was also extremely active in the broader community, serving as Consul-General for Greece for 48 years and being involved in the founding of Brisbane’s Paniyiri and also the Greek Pavilion at World Expo 88.

Meanwhile, Justice Kiefel, who is renowned for Her Honour’s scholarship in Comparative Law (having won the CJ Hampson Prize in Comparative Law during Her Honour’s time at the University of Cambridge), delivered a paper entitled ‘Legal influences – across centuries and borders’.

Following Justice Kiefel’s paper, the Honourable Justice Anthe Philippides, Queensland patron of the Hellenic Australian Lawyers Association and Judge of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Queensland, closed proceedings and presented a commentary. See photos below:

L-R: Professor Jennifer Corrin, Professor Pene Mathew, Justice Philippides and Justice Kiefel.
L-R: John Nicolaides, Christy Nicolaides, Alexandra Feros, Angela Nicolaides.
Mal Varitimos CBE QC with visiting lawyers from Papua New Guinea.