The Rt Hon Justice Richard Edward O’Connor (1851–1912) was the first President of the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration (1905–07), and sat on the High Court from October 1903 until November 1912. He was educated at St Mary's College Lyndhurst and Sydney Grammar School before graduating with a Master of Arts from the University of Sydney. He was admitted to the NSW Bar in 1876, and appointed a Queen's Counsel (QC) in 1896. He was nominated to the NSW Legislative Council on 30 December 1887 and served as the Minister for Justice (1891–93) and NSW Solicitor-General (1893). In the first post-federation Barton Government, he served as a Protectionist Party Senator, Leader of the Senate and Vice-President of the Federal Executive Council (1901–03). Like Barton, a lifelong friend, O'Connor had been prominent in the federation movement. Justice O'Connor was appointed to the first High Court Bench on 5 October 1903, along with Edmund Barton and Samuel Griffith.