John Byrne

John Harris Byrne (born 16 October 1948) is a retired Australian jurist who previously served as Senior Judge Administrator of the Supreme Court of Queensland. Having been a judge of that court since 1989, he was one of the court's most experienced judges. He was also Chair of the National Judicial College of Australia, a body which provides programs and professional development resources to judicial officers in Australia. He is now a private Commercial Arbitrator. Pre-judicial career Byrne commenced his legal career as an articled clerk for Morris Fletcher and Cross before being admitted as a barrister of the Supreme Court of Queensland in 1972. He was appointed King's Counsel ten years later in 1982. He also became a member of the Supreme Court Library Committee, Supreme Court Rules Committee and the University of Queensland Law Faculty Board. He also served in the Army Reserve, in the Infantry Corps, from 1966 to 1985. Judicial career Byrne was involved in many notable cases during his long judicial career. Legal Services Commissioner v Mullins The Legal Services Commissioner contended that the legal practitioner acting for a Plaintiff in a personal injuries claim had committed professional misconduct by failing to disclose the fact that his client had been diagnosed with cancer and then relying on a report in a mediation which had assumed a normal life expectancy for the client. The claim had settled at the mediation for significantly more than if the insurer had known of the client's cancer condition. The practitioner, a barrister, defended the charge, arguing that continuing to rely on reports without disclosing the client's condition was not tantamount to some representation that he was not aware of facts that could deleteriously impact on his longevity, and the common assumption was that the parties would rely exclusively on their own resources and information.