The Honourable David Francis Jackson AM KC (1941-2023)

15/05/2023

Vale

David Jackson AM KC, a founding member and former Head of New Chambers (2014 – 2016), and the leader of the Seventh Floor of Wentworth Chambers (2002-2014) has died.

Jackson KC was called to the Bar in Queensland in 1964 and took Silk (Queen’s Counsel) in 1976. Shortly prior he was the Associate to Sir Harry Gibbs who then sat on the Supreme Court of Queensland and who would later become the Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia. In November 1985, Jackson KC was appointed to the Bench of the Federal Court of Australia but two years later in 1987, resigned and returned to private practice as Silk where he would remain for thirty-eight more years. He said on numerous occasions, that he was only ever most comfortable at the Bar and he loved appearing in the High Court. His achievements are too numerous to detail here.

Jackson KC was a consummate barrister and a giant of the NSW Bar whose ineffable robust style of advocacy will be remembered by many. He was one of the finest appellate advocates of his generation. He sat and served on many committees and commissions of inquiry and his practice spanned every aspect and discipline of the law. In 2007 he was made a Member of the Order of Australia for service to the legal profession as a leading practitioner in the fields of constitutional and appellate law, as a contributor to the development of professional organisations associated with the law, and through roles in the area of professional education.

Funeral arrangements will be advised separately.