The Margaret Stone Lecture

The Margaret Stone Lecture co-hosted by the Faculty of Law & Justice, UNSW Sydney and Herbert Smith Freehills honours the life and contribution to the law of the late Honourable Margaret Stone AO FAAL.

Amongst her many achievements, Justice Stone was a much-loved and revered teacher at UNSW Sydney, a partner at Freehill, Hollingdale and Page and a judge of the Federal Court of Australia. In her later life she undertook a number of important roles in the public service including as the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security. The creation of this Lecture has been with the support and encouragement of Justice Stone’s family.

This newly established 2023 Margaret Stone Lecture will focus on Private & Commercial Law but also accommodate other areas in which Justice Stone made contributions, including the federal judiciary and national security.

2023 – The Honourable Justice Michelle Gordon AC 

In the inaugural Margaret Stone Lecture, Justice Michelle Gordon AC reflects on Margaret Stone’s life in the law. The Lecture will explore Margaret Stone’s profound contribution to Australian property law, an area which she once observed “fascinated” because of its history and development, and because of how it challenges “how we think about law”. The Lecture is a celebration of how Margaret Stone thought and the lasting impact that thinking has had.

Read Justice Gordon's pre-edited speech.