Shortly after, Ms Roxon joined national mid-tier firm Holding Redlich, where she served her articles of clerkship and worked briefly as a solicitor between 1991 and 1992. Immediately thereafter, Ms Roxon headed to her current homebase in Canberra, although at this stage she worked as the Associate to High Court Justice Mary Gaudron. She held that position for 2 years, before returning to practise at Maurice Blackburn Cashman, where she was elevated to Senior Associateship at some point between 1994 and 1996. At MBC, Ms Roxon specialised in industrial law.
In this regard, Ms Roxon shares some history with the Prime Minister – Ms Gillard worked for rival plaintiff law firm Slater & Gordon, starting with the firm in 1987 before being elevated to the partnership just 3 years later in 1990 at the tender age of 29.
Ms Roxon’s paternal grandparents were Jewish and migrated from Poland to Australian in 1937 and chose to anglicise the family name from Ropschitz to Roxon. Rock on!
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Same story with bill shorten
Just goes to show, even crap lawyers can become top tier parliamentarians.
Wouldn’t it be a sign of social progression for commentary about Roxon’s appointment to not emphasise the fact that she is “the first female Attorney General”…
I suspect that Roxon was also the first female to be Health Minister… but I don’t recall a big hoopla when she was apppointed Health Minister.
How’s about the focus shift to her ability (which I am sure is phenomenal based on her record) rather than her gender.
She is a useless politian appointed by a useless government and only got the job as a token woman. She will be unemployed when labor are booted out of office in 2012. Get a new hair style! That’s all…
Won preselection for Gelibrand because of a quota system and being Bill Shorten’s squeeze at the time.
Labor – LLB/Young Labor -> I.R Lawyer with plaintiff firm/Labor -> Labor pollie.
Liberal – Young Liberal -> Top-tier/Mid-tier/Bar -> Liberal pollie.
… leading to a boring and predictable parliament. It sure would be nice to have a diversity of backgrounds. I know the above is stating the obvious, it is just depressing.
@Lonhro – there is a scarcity of ALP lawyers in federal parliament, Labor MPSs being mostly union hacks. And Dreyfus QC and David Bradbury disagree with your stereotype.
@David, I think you’ll find that Nicola Roxon was not the first Health Minister. Kay Patterson was Health Minister during the early part of the Howard regime as was Carmen Lawrence during the Keating years.
“not the first female Health Minister”. My bad.
The Supreme Court Prize is irrelevant within five years of graduation, let alone 20 years later.
James if you honestly think the Supreme Court Prize is irrelevant after five years you have no idea.
Thanks, “Anonymous”. What an insightful response! My point, you halfwit, is that a university award won at the age of 22 or 23 years is not necessarily an indication of great legal ability. It’s a point borne out by the example of Ms Roxon, who hasn’t had a stellar legal career. If you think that’s not practically self-evident, then you have no idea.
Horse shit, James. Do they just hand out HCA associateships these days? Just because she didn’t do the top-tier thing doesn’t mean she’s no good.
Mary Gaudron came to Roxon’s swearing in as A-G also. Not to say she would not do this as a friend – but it points favourably to Roxon having legal ability.
No, it doesn’t.
she is not in the same league as Brandis sc.
If she is so well minded where was she when the labor party Malaysian deal was thrown out by the high courts…where was she when labor had the opportunity to avoid the Qantas under the laws that they created???!!!