Attorney General John Quigley is pleased to announce the appointment of Michael Lundberg as the first Aboriginal judge on the Supreme Court of Western Australia.
Mr Lundberg is a leading commercial litigator and arbitration lawyer nationally and has been an equity partner at two global law firms.
He started his career in 1994 as a solicitor and then assistant Crown counsel at what was then WA's Crown Solicitors Office.
Mr Lundberg went into private practice in 2000 at King & Wood Mallesons, where he became a partner and worked for 18 years. His positions there included head of the Dispute Resolution Group and Partner in Charge of the Perth office.
He has subsequently been a Perth-based partner at multinational firms Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and Jones Day.
Mr Lundberg is also a member of Curtin University's governing authority the University Council.
He has taken on various pro bono matters for indigenous individuals and groups. Those cases included representing Aboriginal man Gene Gibson, whose wrongful conviction for manslaughter was overturned by the Court of Appeal in 2017.
Mr Lundberg's historic appointment follows in the footsteps of his mother, Yamatji woman Dr Sue Gordon AM who is from Meekatharra, and who was WA's first Aboriginal magistrate, serving 20 years on the Children's Court bench.
He will join the Supreme Court bench on 28 November 2022.
As stated by Attorney General John Quigley:
"It gives me great pleasure to see Michael Lundberg become WA's first Aboriginal Supreme Court judge.
"This is a landmark appointment for the State's justice system and another step towards closing the gap with First Nations people.
"The son of a member of the Stolen Generation, Mr Lundberg grew up in Port Hedland and obtained law and commerce degrees from the University of Western Australia.
"He is recognised as one of Australia's best lawyers in his areas of expertise, which include dispute resolution in the energy and resources sectors, intellectual property law, industrial relations and defamation matters.
"Mr Lundberg played an integral pro bono role in obtaining the freedom of Gene Gibson, who spent nearly five years in prison for a crime he did not commit because of a miscarriage of justice and police misconduct.
"I congratulate Mr Lundberg on this well-deserved appointment and wish him well in his new role."
