| The Andrews Labor Government has announced the appointments of Leveasque Peterson as a Coroner and Julian Hetyey as an associate judge of the Supreme Court, in addition to the appointments of Hayley Bate, Justin Foster, Michael Richards and Elizabeth Langdon as Magistrates.
Leveasque Peterson was admitted to legal practice in 1994, and has had a broad regulatory, administrative law and inquiries practice, representing governments departments and statutory agencies.
During the Royal Commission into the Victorian Bushfires 2009 Ms Peterson represented 77 local councils and subsequently assisted in the local government response to recommendations made by the Royal Commission. She was appointed as the Assistant Victorian Government Solicitor in 2018.
Julian Hetyey is currently serving his second term of appointment as the Judicial Registrar of the Supreme Court, having been reappointed in November 2019. Prior to his current appointment, Mr Hetyey was Deputy District Registrar of the Federal Court of Australia and the Australian Competition Tribunal Deputy Registrar.
Hayley Bate has worked as a Barrister at Law, appearing as Defence and Prosecution Counsel before the Magistrates’ Court and the criminal division of the Children’s Court. She also appeared at the County Court, Supreme Court in matters relating to violence, drugs and intervention orders.
Ms Bate was admitted to the Victorian Bar in 2009 after serving as a Criminal solicitor. She holds a Bachelor of Laws from Monash University.
Justin Foster is currently practicing at VCAT and in the Magistrates’, County and Supreme Courts of Victoria. Prior to this, he was an Articled Clerk and lawyer at Gadens Lawyers from 1999 to 2001.
Mr Foster was admitted as a barrister of the Victorian Bar in 2001. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Laws with Honours from Monash University.
Michael Richards is a senior barrister with over three decades experience at the Victorian Bar, specialising in Work Cover litigation. He was admitted in November 1979 and signed the Bar Roll in March 1980. He has a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Melbourne.
Elizabeth Langdon has served as a Magistrate in WA since 2006 in a number of jurisdictions, including the Children’ Court. She is currently the Magistrate for the West Kimberley region.
She has a particular interest in therapeutic jurisprudence and was previously the Supervising Magistrate of the Perth Drug Court and she has also presided in the Aboriginal Community Court in Kalgoorlie. She joined the Victorian Bar in 2003 after working as a lawyer for Victoria Legal Aid.
All of the appointees will commence their terms in the coming weeks. |