The Hon Justice Peter Cadden Heerey stepped down from his position as Judge of the Federal Court of Australia, Melbourne in February 2009. His Honour’s exceptional achievements were foreshadowed in his undergraduate studies as a distinguished scholar who graduated with First Class Honours in law in 1961. His Honour also holds a BA (1965) from UTAS.

Justice Heerey served articles  – then three years of training, beginning concurrent to the student’s third year of undergraduate studies  – with Hodgman & Valentine. He then travelled overseas to London, working at Markby Stewart and Wadesons in 1961, returning to Corr and Corr (now Corrs, Chambers Westgarth) in 1963 before returning to Hobart in 1964 to Dobson, Mitchell & Allport, where he  became a partner. In 1967 he commenced practise at the Melbourne Bar and he took silk in 1985.

In 1990 he was appointed to the Federal Court. His Honour presided over a wide range of matters, including Henderson v Amadio which, Michael Hodgan QC recently described as “universally regarded as a masterpiece”. He notably rejected Cadbury Schweppes trademark claim over a shade of purple in the continuing Cadbury Schweppes v Darrell Lea dispute. At his retirement speech in Hobart he cited Alstergren v The Ship “Territory Pearl”, a case involving a ships pilot, asleep at the wheel crashing into Salmon Farms at Bruny Island, Tasmania, as one of the most fascinating cases he has presided over.

In addition to his tireless work at the bench, Justice Heerey has been President of the Defence Force Discipline Appeals Tribunal, a Deputy President of the Australian Competition Tribunal and a Presidential member of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. He has also a wide range of community appointments including positions on the Arts Law Centre of Australia, the Committee of the Duke of Edinburgh Award and the Graduate Program in Intellectual Property at the University of Melbourne.

Justice Heerey has a long standing academic commitment to UTAS, where he has regularly taught in the undergraduate program and presented seminars. In 2005, he was visiting scholar at the Faculty and has mentored and advised a number of postgraduates and staff.

Justice Heerey and his wife Sally, whom he married in 1969, are grandparents and have three children Edward, Charles and Tom.

We wish His Honour all the best for his retirement and sincerely hope that this will provide him with more opportunities to visit the Faculty.

Read the transcript of the farewell speech to Justice Heerey in the Full Federal Court here