2017 Selden Society inaugural Lord Atkin lecture by the Hon Chief Justice Susan Kiefel AC

An annual Lord Atkin Lecture has been introduced this year to mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of Lord Atkin - one of the common law’s most influential judges.
During his judicial career Atkin was not only respected as a technically proficient lawyer but admired for his insight and judgment. It was this combination of qualities that produced a number of judgments of lasting importance and global influence.
The Hon Susan Kiefel AC was appointed Chief Justice of Australia in January 2017. At the time of her appointment she had been a judge of the High Court since September 2007 and had previously served as a judge of the Federal Court of Australia and the Supreme Court of Queensland.
Chief Justice Kiefel was admitted to the Queensland Bar in 1975 and, in 1987, was the first woman in Queensland to be appointed Queen’s Counsel.