New Supreme Court Judge Appointed
Campbel Giles | 23 July 2009
Media Release
The Attorney-General, Delia Lawrie, today announced the appointment of Judith Kelly SC to the Northern Territory’s Supreme Court bench.
“Ms Kelly brings a wealth of commercial legal experience and a strong understanding of matters unique to the Territory to the bench,” Ms Lawrie said.
“With 23 years experience as a legal practitioner in the Territory, Ms Kelly will be a valuable asset to the Supreme Court.”
Ms Kelly has extensive experience in high-level commercial litigation and was appointed Senior Counsel in 2008.
“I want to congratulate Ms Kelly on her appointment as a Justice of the Supreme Court. She will make a significant contribution to the Northern Territory’s judicial system,” Ms Lawrie said.
Ms Kelly’s appointment follows the retirement of Justice Sally Thomas from the Supreme Court bench.
“I would like to thank Justice Thomas for her valued contribution as both Chief Magistrate for six years and to the Supreme Court over the past 17 years,” Ms Lawrie said.
Biography
Judith Kelly came to the Territory in 1977 and worked as a secondary school teacher at Batchelor Area School from 1977 to 1982.
She completed her law degree in Brisbane in 1985 and was admitted to practise as a barrister in Queensland in February 1986 and as a legal practitioner in the Northern Territory on April 1, 1986.
She began work for the Darwin office of Morris Fletcher & Cross, (later Philip & Mitaros, now Clayton Utz) where she became a partner.
As a solicitor Judith Kelly had a commercial litigation practise with a focus on banking and insolvency, insurance, construction and admiralty law.
After joining William Forster Chambers in 1996 she retained a commercial focus practising mainly in the areas of contract, partnership, building, property, tax and insolvency matters as well as some professional negligence, insurance, native title, administrative law, maritime, probate and family provision matters.
She is married with one son. Judith Kelly has long-standing family connections to the Territory with her grandfather, Harold Snell, arriving in 1912 to build Commonwealth public servant’s houses at Myilly Point while her mother was born in the old Darwin hospital at Doctors Gully in 1923.