2016
European Australian Business Council, Luncheon Address, 10 November 2016, Sydney
Launch of the Fourth Edition of Cowen and Zines's Federal Jurisdiction in Australia, 10 November 2016, Sydney
Beyond our Borders: A Judiciary and Profession Looking Outwards, Australian Bar Association & Victorian Bar, National Conference, 27 October 2016, Melbourne
The Changing Face of Judicial Leadership: A Western Australian Perspective, David Malcolm Annual Memorial Lecture, 19 October 2016, Fremantle
Criminal Law in the 21st Century, The High Court and Criminal Law, 15th International Criminal Law Congress, 15 October 2016, Adelaide
Law making in a Representative Democracy: The Durability of Enduring Values, Catherine Branson Lecture Series, 14 October 2016, Adelaide
Seeing Visions and Dreaming Dreams, Judicial Conference of Australia Colloquium, 7 October 2016, Canberra
Convergence across National Boundaries In Commercial Law, Renmin University of China Law School, 21 September 2016, Beijing
Australian Federalism — Fathered by a Son of Wales, Public Law Wales, 15 September 2016, Wales
The Globalisation of Public Law — A Quilting of Legalities, Cambridge Public Law Conference, 12 September 2016, London
Vive la difference — two countries two systems, Anglo Australasian Lawyers' Society, 9 September 2016, London
Legal Change and Social Change, 2016 National Indigenous Legal Conference, 5 September 2016, Canberra
Seeking Higher Things in Higher Education - The Case of the Lawyers, Campion Lecture, St Aloysius College, Kirribilli, Sydney, 18 August 2016
Giving and Taking Offence, Sir Harry Gibbs Memorial Oration, Adelaide, 13 August 2016
Legal Change - The Role of Advocates, Sir Maurice Byers Lecture, Sydney, 22 June 2016
The State of the Australian Judicature, Law Council of Australia and Australian Bar Association, Hobart, Tasmania, 29 April 2016
Arbitration and Public Policy, 2016 Goff Lecture, Hong Kong, 18 April 2016
Transnational Dispute Resolution, Supreme and Federal Court Judges' Conference, Brisbane, 25 January 2016
Convergence of Commercial Laws — Fence Lines and Fields Doing Business Across Asia — Legal Convergence in an Asian Century Conference, Singapore, 22 January 2016
2015
The Role of Courts in Competition Law, Asian Competition Forum 2015, Hong Kong, 30 November 2015
Old but not Obsolete - The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Australia) Ltd Centenary Gala Dinner, Sydney, 24 November 2015
The Fine Art of Giving and Taking Offence, Birkenhead Lecture, Gray's Inn, London, 18 November 2015
28th Annual LAWASIA Conference, Welcoming Remarks at Opening of LAWASIA Conference, Sydney, 6 November 2015
Australian Law Reform Commission, 40th Anniversary Celebration, Sydney, 23 October 2015
The Racial Discrimination Act: A 40 Year Perspective, Inaugural Kep Enderby Lecture, Sydney, 22 October 2015
Judicial Colloquium - Equitable Compensation, Hong Kong, 23 September 2015
The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia — History, Principle and Interpretation, Australian National University, Canberra, 1 October 2015
The Unbearable Lightness of Being an Intellectual Property Lawyer, Intellectual Property Society of Australia and New Zealand, WA Branch, Perth, 16 September 2015
Three Virtuous Things - the Charter the University and the Law School, Murdoch University Law School, Murdoch, 15 September 2015
Ethics and Public Office, Sir Zelman Cowen Memorial Oration, Monash University, Melbourne, 10 September 2015
One Justice - Many Voices, Language and the Law Conference, Darwin, 29 August 2015
The Relevance of Difference - Equal Justice and Equality before the Law, Faculty of Law and UTS Law Society, University of Technology, Sydney, 27 August 2015
Statutory Interpretation and Rationality in Administrative Law, Australian Institute of Administrative Law, Canberra, 23 July 2015
Measure not on the Scale of Perfection, 5th International Conference on Evidence Law and Forensic Science, Adelaide, 22 July 2015
Lawyers, Causes and Passion, EDO NSW 30th Anniversary Dinner, Sydney, 25 June 2015
Judicial Council on Cultural Diversity National Roundtable — Access to Justice for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Women Opening Remarks, Canberra, 24 June 2015
Harold Ford Memorial Lecture, Trusts and Statutes, Melbourne Law School, 20 May 2015
ISDS — Litigating the Judiciary, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Centenary Conference, Hong Kong, 21 March 2015
Equal Justice and Cultural Diversity — The General Meets the Particular, Cultural Diversity and the Law Conference, Sydney, 14 March 2015
The Moving Finger Writes and, Having Writ, Rewrites, Bannerman Lecture, Sydney, 26 February 2015
The High Court, The Constitution and Australian Politics, Book Launch, Sydney, 13 February 2015
Hellenic Australian Lawyers Association Incorporated, Queensland Chapter Launch, Brisbane, 30 January 2015
2014
Common Law Constitutionalism, Robin Cooke Lecture, Wellington, New Zealand, 27 November 2014
Opening of Owen Dixon Chambers West Extension, Melbourne, 7 November 2014
Statutory Interpretation in Australia, University House, Australian National University, Canberra, 24 October 2014
Curriculum Change - A Multidimensional Task, Curriculum Review at the Law School of the University of New South Wales, 20 October 2014
National Judiciaries in a Global Economy, International Association for Court Administration - 7th International Conference, Sydney, 24 September 2014
Trade Law and the Australian Courts - Law Council of Australia 2014 - International Trade Law Symposium, Canberra, 18 September 2014
Legal Practice in a Global Neighbourhood, Newcastle Law School — University of Newcastle, 8 August 2014
Investor-State Dispute Settlement — A Cut Above the Courts?, Supreme and Federal Courts Judges' Conference, Darwin, 9 July 2014
Pericleans, Plumbers and Practitioners Book Launch, Monash University Law School 50th Anniversary, Melbourne, 28 June 2014
Federal Circuit Court - History Repeats Itself, Melbourne, 1 May 2014
Australasian Legal History Libraries - A Large Step Forward, Sydney, 30 April 2014
The Idea of a Law School named after Thomas More,Launch of Thomas More Law School, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne 23 April 2014
Bending Words: The Fine Art of Interpretation,University of Western Australia, Faculty of Law,Guest Lecture Series, Perth,20 March 2014
Pro Bono Publico - Cui Bono?,Law Summer School, Perth,21 February 2014
2013
Legal Limits, Book Launch, Perth, 17 December 2013
Inglis Clark - A Living Force,Andrew Inglis Clark and the Building of the Australian Nation Conference, Parliament House, Canberra, 8 November 2013
Poetry and Public Law,New South Wales Bar,Constitutional & Administrative Law Branch Annual Dinner, Sydney, 7November 2013
Singapore - Where Common Law and Constitutions Meet,Anglo-Australasian Lawyers Society Breakfast Address, Sydney,21 October 2013
Justice in the Eye of the Beholder,Law & Justice Foundation, Sydney,21 October 2013
South Australia and the Australian Constitution,John Bray Oration, Adelaide, 14 October 2013
Justice in Arms: Military Lawyers in the Australian Army's First One Hundred Years, Book Launch, Canberra, 2 October 2013
The Rule of Law as a Many Coloured Dream Coat,Singapore Academy of Law, Singapore,18 September 2013
Historical Foundations of Australian Law,Book Launch, Sydney,22 August 2013
International Commercial Dispute Resolution and the Place of Judicial Power, International Commercial Law and Arbitration Conference,Sydney,22 August 2013
If they could see us now - what would the founders say?, John Curtin Prime Ministerial Library 2013 Anniversary Lecture, Perth, 18 July 2013
The future is not what it used to be -Australian Law Students' Association Conference, Perth, 15 July 2013
Why Rome and not Hong Kong- the Australian Bar at Large, Rome,2 July 2013
Law- Complexity and Moral Clarity, Mildura, 19 May 2013
The Past - not such a Foreign Country, Perth, 16 May 2013
Religion and the Constitution, Perth, 14 May 2013
Property, Planning and Human Rights, Canberra, 25 March 2013
Australian Migration and Settlement Awards, Parliament House, Canberra, 18 March 2013
Essential and Defining Characteristics of Courts in an Age of Institutional Change, Adelaide, 21 January 2013
2012
The Interrogation That Never Ends, 50th Anniversary of the Professor Harry Messel International Science School, Sydney, 27 November 2012
Judges and Academics - Dialogue of the Hard of Hearing, Inaugural Patron's Lecture, Australian Academy of Law, Sydney, 30 October 2012
Two Chapters about Judicial Power, Peter Nygh Memorial Lecture 2012, 15th National Family Law Conference, Hobart, 15 October 2012
Book Launch: Privatising the Public University The Case of Law by Margaret Thornton, Australian National University, Canberra, 4 October 2012
GA Kennedy AO - A Man Worthy of Memory, University of Western Australia, Perth, 24 September 2012
Women Lawyers in a Public World, Australian Women Lawyers Association Fourth National Conference, Australian National University, Canberra, 11 August 2012
The Courts and the Parliament, Queensland Supreme Court Seminar, Brisbane, 4 August 2012
Wisdom's Legacy, Francis Burt Chambers 50th Anniversary Dinner, Perth, 28 July 2012
A Public Law Perspective on Intellectual Property, Melbourne, 25 July 2012 (PDF191K) (RTF318K)
Public Law - An Australian Perspective, Scottish Public Law Group, Edinburgh, 6 July 2012
Human Right Protection in Australia and the United Kingdom: Contrasts and Comparisons, Anglo-Australasian Lawyers Society and Constitutional and Administrative Law Bar Association, London, 5 July 2012
Appellate Advocacy in the High Court of Australia, World Bar Conference, London, 29 June 2012
Unelected Judges in a Representative Democracy, St Thomas More Society, Sydney, 22 June 2012 (PDF228K) (RTF204K)
Cooperation and Convergence - Judiciaries and the Profession, Commonwealth Lawyers Association Regional Conference, Sydney, 21 April 2012
Horses for Courses, National Symposium, International Legal Services Advisory Council, Canberra, 16 March 2012
Tax and the Constitution, Tax Institute 27th National Convention, Canberra, 14 March 2012
Deakin Law School 20th Anniversary Dinner, Geelong, 18 February 2012
Litigating in a Statutory Universe, Victorian Bar Association 2nd Annual CPD, Melbourne, 18 February 2012
2011
Aboriginal Women's Legal Education Trust - Launch, Supreme Court of Western Australia, 15 December 2011
The Judicial Function in an Age of Statutes, 2011 Goldring Memorial Lecture, Wollongong, 18 November 2011
Sir Frank Kitto Lecture, University of New England, Armidale, 23 September 2011
University of New South Wales, Law School 40th Anniversary, Sydney, 17 September 2011
Closing Address - Asia Pacific Model UN Conference - Final Plenary Session, Canberra, 15 July 2011
Trials of Advocacy - The Australian Bar Association Bar Readers' Trial Advocacy Course - Closing Dinner, Perth,08 July 2011
Legal Education in Australia - A Never Ending Story, Australasian Law Teachers' Association Conference, Brisbane,4 July 2011
Public Office and Public Trust, Seventh Annual St Thomas More Forum Lecture, Canberra, 22 June 2011
Judging Science - 13th Greek/Australian International Legal and Medical Conference, 30 May 2011
The Northern Territory - A Celebration of Constitutional History, Centenary of the Northern Territory Supreme Court Kriewaldt Lecture, Darwin, 23 May 2011
The Role of the Courts in Migration Law, Migration Review Tribunal and Refugee Review Tribal Annual Members' Conference, Torquay, Victoria, 25 March 2011
Occasional Address, Graduation Ceremony, Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, 22 March 2011
The Judiciary in an Age of Global Interdependence, International Association for Court Administration Conference, Bogor, Indonesia, 15 March 2011
Albritton Lecture, School of Law, University of Alabama, USA, 18 January 2011
"Liberty and Law in Australia", School of Law, Washington University, St Louis, USA, 14 January 2011
2010
"Law and Justice Outside the CBD", Rural and Regional Law & Justice Conference, Deakin University, Warrnambool, 20 November 2010
The Interface between Equitable Principles and Public Law, Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, Sydney, 29 October 2010
"One Small Town", The Law Society of New South Wales Annual Member's Dinner, Sydney, 28 October 2010
Procedural Fairness - Indispensable to Justice?, Sir Anthony Mason Lecture, The University of Melbourne Law School, Law Students' Society, Melbourne, 7 October 2010
Singers of songs and dreamers of plays, Victorian Bar Association Annual Dinner, Melbourne, 3 September 2010
"It's Not Whether You Win or Lose...", Northern Territory Bar Association Annual Dinner, Darwin, 14 August 2010
A Complicated Brief- The Corporations Law Adviser, Business Law Section, Law Council of Australia, Corporations Law Workshop Dinner, Canberra, 31 July 2010
Administrative Justice- Words in Search of Meaning, Australian Institute of Administrative Law Annual Conference- National Administrative Law Forum 2010, Sydney, 22 July 2010
John Forrest: Founding Father from the Far West, National Archives of Australia Constitution Day Lecture, Canberra, 8 July 2010
Courts in a Representative Democracy, University of Southern Queensland, Toowomba, 25 June 2010
Justice as Fairness- A Contested Ideal, University of Western Sydney Biennial Dinner, Sydney, 7 May 2010
Welcome to High Court, 15th National Schools Constitutional Convention Dinner, Canberra, 24 March 2010
Interacting with Diversity: Australian Judges and Regional Courts, Australian Institute of International Affairs- ACT Branch, Canberra, 12 March 2010
Theories of Everything and Constitutional Interpretation- 2010 Constitutional Law Conference Dinner, University of New South Wales- Gilbert &: Tobin Centre of Public Law, Sydney, 19 February 2010
The Executive Power - Inaugural George Winterton Lecture, Sydney Law School, Sydney, 18 February 2010
Protecting Human Rights Without a Bill of Rights, John Marshall Law School, Chicago, 26 January 2010
Constitutional Review of Executive Decisions- Australia's US Legacy, John Marshall Law School- Chicago Bar Association, 25 and 28 January 2010
Australia's Constitutional Evolution, John Fordham Law School Constitutional Law Master Class, New York, 20 January 2010
2009
The Future of Australian Constitutionalism, International and Comparative Perspectives on Constitutional Law: A 21st Anniversary Celebration for the Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies, Melbourne, 27 November 2009
The Constitution and the Protection of Human Rights, Edith Cowan University Vice-Chancellor's Oration, Perth, 20 November 2009
Judicial Activism- The Boundaries of the Judicial Role, LAWASIA Conference, Ho Chi Minh City, 10 November 2009
Public & Private Law: The Intersection- La Trobe Lecture, Melbourne, 30 October 2009
The Chief Justice and the Governor-General, Melbourne University Law Review Annual Dinner, Melbourne, 29 October 2009
Judicial Education- A Global Phenomenon, The International Organisation for Judicial Training, The Fourth International Conference on the Training of the Judiciary, Sydney, 26 October 2009
The State of the Australian Judicature, The 36th Australian Legal Convention, Perth, 18 September 2009
Notaries- from Stones to Electrons, Australia and New Zealand College of Notaries Biennial Conference, Melbourne, 11 September 2009
The Common Law and the Protection of Human Rights, Anglo Australasian Lawyers Society, Sydney, 4 September 2009
International Law and Australian Domestic Law, Supreme Court of New South Wales Annual Conference, Hunter Valley, 21 August 2009
Surfing the Wavefront, Law Council of Australia Trade Practices Workshop, Yarra Valley, 15 August 2009
Modest Questions - Great Answers, International Committee of the Red Cross and Australian Red Cross, 60th Anniversary of the Geneva Conventions, Canberra, 12 August 2009
Perspectives on Court Annexed Alternative Dispute Resolution, Law Council of Australia- Multi-Door Symposium, Canberra, 27 July 2009
From Light and Life to Genes and Galaxies- 45 Years On, 35th Professor Harry Messel International Science School, Sydney, 13 July 2009
Relaunch of National Archives Exhibition on the High Court at the "Memory of a Nation" Gallery, Canberra, 8 July 2009
Adding Value To Law Making- Australia and New Zealand Scrutiny of Legislation Conference, Canberra, 6 July 2009
In Praise of Unelected Judges- The John Curtin Institute of Public Policy, Public Policy Forum, Perth, 1 July 2009
"Oil and Water?"- International Law and Domestic Law in Australia, The Brennan Lecture, Bond University, 26 June 2009
Federalism in The Supreme Court of India and The High Court of Australia- Second Indo Australian Legal Forum Meet 2009, Canberra, 3 June 2009
James Merralls' AM QC- The Doyen of Law Reporters- 40 Years Editor of the Commonwealth Law Reports, Melbourne, 29 May 2009
In Hope of Convergence- A Regional Perspective on Competition Law, 2009 Competition Law Conference, Sydney, 23 May 2009
Boundary Conditions- The Funding of The Courts Within a Constitutional Framework, Australian Institute of Judicial Administration, Australian Court Administrator's Group Conference, Melbourne, 15 May 2009
Don't you know who I am?- Ego and Identity in the Administration of Justice, New South Wales Bar Association, Bench and Bar Dinner, Sydney, 8 May 2009,
Science and Judicial Proceedings - Seventy-Six Years On, Medico Legal Society of Victoria, 2 May 2009,
Intellectual Property - Living in the Twilight Zone, Licensing Executives Society of Australia and New Zealand, Annual Conference, Canberra, 4 April 2009,
The Human Dimension of the Law, University of Canberra- Isaacs Law Society - Law Ball, Canberra, 3 April 2009,
Native Title- A Constitutional Shift?, JD Lecture Series, University of Melbourne Law School, 24 March 2009,
The Future of Litigation: Dispute Resolution in Jurassic Park? Annual Conference 2009, Bar Association of Queensland, 7 March 2009,
Superannuation - A Confluence of Legal Streams, 26 February 2009,
"In praise of breadth"- A reflection on the virtues of generalist lawyering, Law Summer School 2009, University of Western Australia, 20 February 2009,
Conference on Judicial Reasoning: Art or Science?, Opening Address: Chief Justice Robert French, Australian National University, National Judicial College of Australia and Australian Academy of Forensic Science, Canberra, 7 February 2009,
2008
Rolling a Rock Uphill?- Native Title and the Myth of Sisyphus, Judicial Conference of Australia National Colloquium, 10 October 2008,
Unleashing the Tiger?- Competition Law in China and Hong Kong, Conference Opening Address, Melbourne Law School, 4 October 2008,
"Swapping Ideas: The Academy, the Judiciary and the Profession", delivered at the Australian Academy of Law 2008 Symposium Series, Melbourne, 1 December 2008,
Cause for Celebration, Law Council of Australia 75th Anniversary Dinner, 19 September 2008,
Law Libraries- Places of Power and Danger, The Art of Information, Australian Law Librarians Association Conference 2008, Perth, 18 September 2008,