Lex Lasry

Early life and education

Lasry grew up in the Victorian country town of Healesville where his father worked as a solicitor. He attended Healesville Primary School, Haileybury College and Monash University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Jurisprudence in 1970, and a Bachelor of Laws in 1972.

Career

Barrister and advocate

Lasry completed his 'articles' at the law firm Slater & Gordon, and read for the Victorian Bar under David Bennett QC. He was admitted to practise law in Victoria in 1973 and was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1990. Lasry has acted as a junior counsel before the Costigan royal commission, counsel with the National Crime Authority, and was the Royal Commissioner for the Inquiry into the Victorian Metropolitan Ambulance Service. From 2003 and 2006, Lasry acted as senior counsel assisting the Coronial inquiry into the 2003 Canberra bushfires. Prior to his 2007 appointment to the bench, Lasry was entitled to practise law in the Australian jurisdictions of Victoria, New South Wales, the Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, and Western Australia.

As the former chair of the Victorian Criminal Bar Association, in August 2004, Lasry was appointed as the independent observer representing the Law Council of Australia at the trial of Australian Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks. He attended Military Commission hearings at Guantanamo Bay in August 2004 and March 2007.

As a barrister and Queens Counsel, Lasry has acted as defence counsel in several high-profile criminal cases in Australia and overseas. He acted on behalf of Joseph Thomas in a high-profile Australian terror trial (see R v Thomas) in which Thomas was convicted of receiving funds from a terrorist organisation and for passport offences. The conviction was overturned on appeal. Lasry represented Van Tuong Nguyen in the high-profile case in which he was convicted of drug trafficking in Singapore in 2002 and executed in December 2005. At about that time Lasry took up the case of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, two of the nine Australians convicted of drug trafficking in Indonesia, known as the Bali Nine. That work has been continued by barrister Julian McMahon and a team of Victorian lawyers.

Appointment to the bench

Lasry was appointed as a justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria on 23 October 2007. He is also a member of the Council of the International Criminal Bar for counsel practising before the International Court of Justice. He also chaired appellate hearings for the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) and for V8 Supercar racing, and has a motor racing licence.

On 8 December 2011, he sentenced Matthew Charles Johnson to a non parole period of 32 years in jail over the murder of ‘Melbourne Gangland’ killer Carl Williams.{{cite web |url=https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/judge-lex-lasry-sentences-matthew-johnson/news-story/d52a63d185114f7b7d588b7e0c1c3a10

On 18 March 2016, he sentenced Sean Price to life (38 years non parole) over the stabbing murder of 17 year old school girl Masa Vukotic.{{cite news |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-18/authorities-failed-to-protect-community-from-sean-price/7258712

He retired in June 2018 but continued hearing cases as a reserve judge until February 2024.

In February 2024, Lasry quit the judiciary in response to a complaint lodged by the Victorian Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). Lasry rejected the complaint, but stated he could no longer preside over cases involving the DPP and he would therefore resign.

On 1 January 2025, Lasry was appointed as an Acting Judge of the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory

Awards and honours

In 2007 Lasry was awarded the Law Council of Australia's inaugural Presidents Medal for his pro bono representation of Van Nguyen in 2005, and for his outstanding work as Independent Legal Observer for Hicks in 2004 and 2005.

Personal life

Lasry has been a longstanding opponent of the use of the death penalty, arguing "when the state kills a citizen, no matter what they have done, the community is diminished by the killing." In reference to the Bali Nine, Lasry stated "The idea that the government would take individuals out into the bush and shoot them is something I can never live with... and from a legal viewpoint, it has no deterrent value." In 2015, Lasry organised a concert in support of jailed Australian journalist Peter Greste.

He is a longtime supporter of the St Kilda Football Club and, in 2011, was appointed to serve a three-year term on the Faculty Board of the Faculty of Law at Monash University.

He plays in his own rock band, The Lex Pistols, and he has raced Porsche cars for many years.

References

References

1. (10 July 2015). "The QC disrobed: meet the Supreme Court's Lex Lasry, drummer in the Lex Pistols and man of many parts".
2. "Hire our Healesville Towing Service Today".
3. (26 November 2005). "Counsel for the condemned".
4. Lasry, Lex. (24 July 2007). "David Hicks v the United States". [[Law Council of Australia]].
5. Lasry, Lex. (May 2001). "Report of the Metropolitan Ambulance Service Royal Commission". Parliament of Victoria.
6. "Biography". Victorian Bar Association.
7. O'Brien, Kerry. (1 December 2005). "Nguyen lawyer describes painful journey". [[ABC (Australian TV channel).
8. Kalina, Paul. (23 February 2006). "Trial by media in Bali". [[The Age]].
9. Butcher, Steve. (24 October 2007). "Colleagues heap praise on new Justice Lex Lasry". [[The Age]].
10. (10 February 2015). "Judges". [[Supreme Court of Victoria]].
11. (20 September 2007). "Ward's whopper fine stands, pretty much". motoring.com.au.
12. (2018-07-16). "5 judges appointed for Vic Supreme Court, Court of Appeal".
13. "Judge quits over stoush with DPP".
14. "The Supreme Court of the Northern Territory has gained two Acting Judges with extensive experience in both criminal law and as judicial officers. Former Chief Justice of Tasmania Alan Blow and… {{!}} Chris Cox PSM".
15. (2007). "2007: Mr Lex Lasry QC". [[Law Council of Australia]].
16. Lasry, Lex. (3 February 2007). "Australia must stick to its principles". [[The Age]].
17. (11 February 2015). "Bali Nine: Senior judge Lex Lasry adds voice to calls for clemency for Andrew Chan, Myuran Sukumaran". [[ABC (Australian TV channel).
18. Santhebennur, Malavika. (25 July 2014). "Lawyers band together for detained journo". Lawyers Weekly.
19. (29 September 2011). "Faculty of Law - Council Appointments to Faculty Board". [[Monash University]].
20. Graham Reilly, "The good life", ''The Age''. 11 July 2015, Spectrum, p. 4