was sworn in this week as the first Western Australian Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia. The court’s 12th chief justice, Justice French spent 14 years as a lawyer before joining the Federal Court in 1986, where he has been a judge for 22 years. He chaired the Native Title Tribunal for four years. In the 1970s he helped establish the Aboriginal Legal Service in WA. Justice French has also served as chairman of the Town Planning Appeal Tribunal of WA, as a member of the Law Reform and Legal Aid Commissions of WA, and as an associate member of the Trade Practices Commission.