The Victorian Government has today appointed Dr Catherine Button QC and Judge Mandy Fox as judges, and Ian Irving as an associate judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria.
Dr Button currently practices as a QC specialising in corporate, commercial, regulatory and tax law. Throughout her two decades in law, she has regularly appeared in the Federal Court and the Supreme Courts of Victoria and New South Wales.
Before signing the Bar Roll in 2007, Dr Button was a senior associate at Minter Ellison and worked in law reform in the UK. She was admitted to practise as a barrister and solicitor in 2000 and took silk in 2018.
She is also the author of a book on international trade law.
Dr Button holds a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws from the University of Melbourne, a Bachelor of Civil Law, a Master of Philosophy in Law and a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Oxford, where she studied as a Rhodes Scholar.
In 2018, Judge Fox was appointed as a judge of the County Court and has since sat in the Criminal Division of the Court. Before her appointment to the County Court, she practised as a barrister with an extensive trial practice, appearing in a wide range of criminal cases.
Judge Fox also appeared in a number of coronial inquests and commissions, including the 2009 Bushfire Royal Commission. She also taught advocacy workshops to law students in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.
Judge Fox was admitted to practise as a barrister and solicitor in 1995, signed the Victorian Bar Roll in 1997 and was appointed Queen's Counsel in 2016. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) and a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) from Monash University.
Mr Irving was appointed as a judicial registrar of the Supreme Court in 2016. Prior to this, he was a deputy registrar of the Federal Court of Australia from 2005 to 2016, and a deputy registrar of the Australian Competition Tribunal from 2006 to 2011.
Mr Irving was a solicitor and principal legal officer at Kimberley Land Council from 2001 to 2005. He holds a Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Laws from the University of New South Wales and a Master of Law and Development from the University of Melbourne.
As stated by Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes
"It's an honour to make appointments to the Supreme Court bench that include two accomplished women armed with decades of extensive legal experience and a formidable list of achievements."
"I'd like to thank retiring judicial officers, Justice Geoffrey Digby, Justice John Champion and Associate Justice Jamie Wood for their significant service to the Court and the community."
