A Legal Lifecycle — From Counsel to Court – the Bench
A Legal Lifecycle is a four-part podcast series exploring the diverse, evolving careers of women in the legal profession. Through honest, reflective conversations, each episode traces a different chapter of a legal life — from private practice and career pivots to advocacy at the Bar and, ultimately, a seat on the bench. The experience of gender weaves through each story.
The result is a nuanced look at how identity, ambition, and systemic structures shape legal careers. This is a podcast about professional evolution but also about choice, resilience, and reimagining what a life in the law can look like.
Episode 4: From Counsel to Court – the Bench
In this episode, the discussion explores what it means to move from the Bar into judicial leadership and how roles on the bench have evolved through periods of challenge and transformation. The conversation goes beyond positions and titles.
It examines identity, impact, and what it means to serve the legal profession at its highest levels with purpose, reflection, and courage.
Justice Michelle Quigley was appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria, allocated to the Common Law Trial Division, in 2017.
In 2018, she was the first woman to be appointed to the role of President of VCAT.
Her five-year term finished in 2023, and she returned to the Common Law Trial Division of the Supreme Court. She is the head of the Valuation Compensation and Planning (VCP) List (and an aspiring hairdresser).
Judge Sharon Burchell was appointed to the bench in 2021, having also been a Judicial Registrar in the Court's Commercial Division since 2015.
Her Honour is currently the Head of the Commercial Division, Vice President of the Victorian and Civil Administrative Tribunal and co-Chair of the ADR Committee.
She was previously the Judge in Charge of the Building Cases List and the Banking and Finance List.
Episode Length: ~60 Minutes
(Note: Listeners are eligible for 1CPD point per 60 minutes of Think Foley's content).
To equest a Podcast CPD Certificate, please email: marketing@foleys.com.au
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📞 03 9225 7777
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