Prominent Perth barrister Peter Quinlan has been appointed as the state’s new solicitor general.
Prominent Perth barrister Peter Quinlan has been appointed as the state’s new solicitor general, along with several judicial appointments this week.
Mr Quinlan will begin in the new position from the start of July, replacing Grant Donaldson, who stepped down from the role at the end of his contract to return to private practice.
Attorney General Michael Mischin said Mr Quinlan would provide the state with legal and constitutional advice, and would appear in the High Court and other courts in litigation to which WA was a party, or in which the state intervened.
“Mr Quinlan has an extensive and varied legal practice in a wide range of matters, as well as broad knowledge of public and constitutional law and has authored several articles and papers on legal and ethical issues,” he said.
Mr Quinlan was made senior counsel of the Supreme Court of Western Australia in 2010, and was assistant crown counsel to the then Crown Solicitor’s office in 1996.
He has also served as president of the WA Bar Association, director of the Law Council of Australia, and on the board of governors for The University of Notre Dame Australia.
He will serve in the new role for five years.
Meanwhile, Mr Mischin also announced the appointments of Sandra De Maio and Anne Longden to the Magistrates Court of Western Australia and the Childrens Court of Western Australia.
Mr Mischin said the two appointees reflected the quality and professionalism of female lawyers who were practising in WA.
Also announced today was the appointment of Pamela Scott as the next chief commissioner of the Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission. Commissioner Scott is the first female appointment to the role in the history of the commission. Her appointment follows the retirement of outgoing chief commissioner Tony Beech.
