John Dixon (judge)

John Dixon is a former judge at the Supreme Court of Victoria, who had a legal career spanning 40 years.

Early life and education

John Dixon is a graduate of the law school at the University of Queensland and completed his Masters of Laws at University of Melbourne.^[1]

Career

Lawyer

From 1977 Dixon practised as a lawyer,^[1] spending 27 years of his practice in criminal and commercial law.^[2] As a barrister, he worked in many jurisdictions in commercial law. He specialised in investment law and professional negligence. He also practised as a mediator and was a certified arbitrator.^[3]

Judge

He was appointed to the Supreme Court of Victoria in the Trials Division^[1] on 14 September 2014.^[3]

During his tenure as judge, he presided over some complex class actions, including by victims of the Black Saturday bushfires in 2009,^[2][4] another which challenged legal fees charged by lawyers, and the Rebel Wilson defamation case against Bauer Media in 2018.^[2]

Other roles

Dixon was a Fellow of the Australian Institute for Commercial Arbitration. He also occupied positions on a number of bodies, including:^[3]

• Treasurer and executive member of the Commercial Bar Association (Commbar)
• Chairman of the Corporations and Securities Law Section of CommBar
• Vice-President of the Australian Institute for Commercial Arbitration
• Member of the Pro Bono Committee of the Victorian Bar Council

Retirement

Dixon retired in September 2023. In his farewell ceremony, which was live-streamed on 27 September,^[5] Dixon called for the recognition of Indigenous Australians in the Constitution, ahead of the 2023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendum.^[2]