Being snubbed for a White House party may have been the catalyst for a legal career, the Federal Court was told on Friday at a welcoming ceremony for its newest member.
Justice Erin Longbottom was warmly ushered into the Brisbane role by representatives of the profession, including Queensland Bar Association President Cate Heyworth-Smith KC, who spoke of an “early and formative indignation” for her former colleague.
Cate told of Justice Longbottom’s non-admittance to the Washington party in the 1980s – held for the children of diplomats including her military attaché father – when her two-year-old sister was allowed to attend.
“Perhaps, though, it was this early injustice that has driven your honour to seek better outcomes for others and sent you on a path to this moment,” Cate said.
“Your Honour is now a Justice of the Federal Court of Australia, and entitled to a true sense of accomplishment.
“While it is not a party at the White House, it is a very fine achievement.”
Legal luminaries at the welcoming ceremony included High Court Justice James Edelman, former High Court Chief Justice Susan Kiefel AC KC, and former High Court Justice and former Federal Court Chief Justice Patrick Keane AC KC.
There was also strong representation from Aboriginal and Torres Strait organisations, connected to Justice Longbottom’s native title work over her more than two decades as a barrister.
Cate said Her Honour was likely best known for this work but would also be recognised for her service on royal commissions’ boards of inquiry.
Her Honour’s service on professional and academic committees was well known and “near pathological”, she added.
“We have not time to catalogue even a small number of them,” she said.
“Your Honour is well known at the bar for your acumen, industry and phenomenal capacity for preparation and scholarship.
“As important as those are Your Honour’s collegiality and warmth.”
QLS President Genevieve Dee there was no doubt Justice Longbottom “would serve the administration of justice in this country and those who come before you exceptionally well”.
“The highlights of Your Honour’s career and the praise for your skills, knowledge and comportment are seemingly endless,” Genevieve said.
She said Justice Longbottom had blazed a trail as a native title barrister.
“Your Honour has been a part of some of the most significant matters, inquiries and investigations in our nation’s recent history,” she said.
“This includes the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide and he Australian Capital Territory Board of Inquiry on the Criminal Justice System.
“Your Honour will bring to the bench an outstanding work ethic, an ability to consume volumes of information, and a strategic mind.
“These, combined with your respect for all, your empathy, and your intellectual rigour will be welcomed by the court.
“I expect Your Honour will also make a most stylish addition to these hallowed halls thanks to your love of fashion.
“As someone put it to me – and I hope they don’t mind me paraphrasing just slightly – Your Honour can master complex topics and does so in excellent shoes with the most incredible candour and care.”
Justice Longbottom, who took the oath of office in the same building in December, said it was particular honour to have in the court representatives from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Land Council and representative bodies for Queensland.
Justice Erin Longbottom at the ceremony.
“The first native title trial which I was briefed as junior counsel for the state concerned the land on which this court sits, that of the Turrbal local group of the Yuggera-speaking peoples,” she said.
“Native title is an exceptionally rewarding but also challenging area of law, not least if all for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples concerned.
“During that trial, and my subsequent time at the bar, irrespective of whether I was acting for the state or the applicant, I learned much from the patience and generosity of spirit of the First Nations people with whom I engaged.
“It is a particular privilege to be appointed to a court whose important work includes native title and I look forward to continuing on with that work in this next phase of my professional life.”
Justice Longbottom paid tribute to those who had helped her reach the bench, including the Honourable Margaret McMurdo AC and the Honourable Philip McMurdo KC, for each of whom she was an associate; and staff at Brisbane’s Murray Gleeson Chambers.
But she saved the highest praise for her husband, Brisbane barrister Dr Joseph Crowley, and their six children.
He had been her “fellow traveller in navigating a career in the law”, which included her graduating from the University of Queensland in 2002, joining the bar in 2003, and taking silk in 2019.
“He is also my biggest champion. It was Joe who encouraged me to apply for the associateship to Justice Margeret McMurdo, and later to go straight to the bar,” she said.
“And it was Joe who supported me in taking on matters that were challenging and exciting but also meant long periods away from home.
“At times this has meant that Joe has had to put his own aspirations to one side in favour of mine, but that is the nature of the man, putting others before himself.
“I feel incredibly lucky to have had Joe as my constant companion since that final year of law school.
“His love and wise counsel have been a mainstay that I could not have done without.”
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