AT just 42 years of age, Murdoch University graduate James Edelman has become one of the youngest ever judges appointed to the High Court of Australia.
In 2011, the internationally recognised lawyer and academic was also one of the youngest ever judges appointed to the Supreme Court of Western Australia.
He was recruited to the Federal Court, based in Brisbane, last year.
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READ NOWPrime Minister Turnbull has described Justice Edelman as “one of the most outstanding legal minds of his generation”.
He graduated with a Bachelor of Business from Murdoch University in 1997, which he undertook simultaneously with studies in economics and law at UWA.
Justice Edelman completed his articles of clerkship with Blake Dawson and was admitted to practice in 1998.
Following his acceptance into the law profession, Justice Edelman was named Western Australia’s Rhodes Scholar and completed his doctorate at Oxford University three years later.
He has continued to work in both academic and legal professions throughout his career and has maintained his relationship with Murdoch University since graduation.
From 2013 until his departure to the Federal bench in Queensland, Justice Edelman was a member of the Dean’s External Advisory Group at Murdoch Law School.
The Dean of the Law School Jurgen Brohmersaid said that Justice Edelman’s career path and speed was fairly unique not only in Australia but throughout the world.
“Justice Edelman’s appointment at such a young age reflects a wealth of professional and international experience that few successful people could claim for a lifetime,” he said.
“I am now hoping that his connection to our Law School will bring him back here as a speaker in the not too distant future.”