New Master of the Supreme Court appointed

17/02/03
Attorney General Jim McGinty today announced the appointment of solicitor David Newnes as a Master of the Supreme Court.
The appointment is effective from Monday, February 24.
Mr Newnes replaces Master Theo Bredmeyer who retired last year.
Mr Newnes was admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of Western Australia in December 1978 and began his legal career with the firm of Muir Williams Nicholson.
He was engaged in a wide variety of civil litigation matters for five years before moving to Malleson Stephen Jaques in 1982 where he became a partner in 1985. During his 12 years there, his practice covered the areas of general commercial litigation and defamation litigation, together with disputes under the Trade Practices Act and companies legislation.
In 1995 Mr Newnes moved to Blake Dawson Waldron where he was a partner and head of the Perth office litigation group at the time of his appointment as Master of the Supreme Court. He was involved in a broad range of civil litigation matters including administrative, corporations, intellectual property and negligence cases.
Mr Newnes has been appointed as a consultant to the Rules Committee of the Supreme Court in its proposed reform of the Rules of the Supreme Court and in this role he drafted new Rules of Court.
He was also a consultant to the Law Reform Commission's Access to Justice Inquiry. He is currently a member of the Intellectual Property Law Committee of the Law Society, the Australian Institute of Administrative Law, the Australian Insurance Law Association and the Institute of Licensing Executives.
Minister's office: 9213 6900