Maurice Blackburn (law firm)

Maurice Blackburn

Headquarters	Melbourne, Australia
No. of offices	30 [1]
No. of employees	1,000+
Key people	Steve Bracks (Chairman) [2] Jacob Varghese (CEO)
Revenue	AUD$254.1 million (2024) [3]
Date founded	1919
Founder	Maurice Blackburn
Company type	Limited liability partnership
Website	http://www.mauriceblackburn.com.au

Maurice Blackburn Lawyers, (formerly Maurice Blackburn & Co and Maurice Blackburn Cashman), was founded in 1919 by Maurice Blackburn. ^[1] The firm is an Australian plaintiff law firm, having represented clients in a number of high-profile cases since its establishment.

Major cases

Since its establishment Maurice Blackburn Lawyers have acted in a number of cases, including:

• The 40-Hour Working Week Case – in conjunction with the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) Maurice Blackburn fought for shorter working hours;
• MUA Waterfront Dispute Case – represented maritime workers against the Commonwealth Government during the waterfront dispute in 1998;
• The GIO Class Action – the first shareholder class action win in Australian legal history;
• Centro Class Action – the biggest shareholder class action settlement in Australian legal history; ^[4]
• Black Saturday bushfires Class Actions – collectively the largest class action settlement in Australian history at $794 million ($494 million in the Kinglake class action and $300 million in the Marysville class action);
• Mohammed Haneef Case – defended Dr. Haneef against false charges of terrorism in 2010 and later acted on his behalf in a defamation matter; ^[5]
• The Gene Patent BRCA1 Case – a ruling that saw the High Court rule that a mutated gene that causes cancer cannot be subject to a patent under Australian law. ^[6]

Current notable staff

• Josh Bornstein

Former notable staff

• Maurice McRae Blackburn, founder, former Labor and Independent Labor MP
• James Burke, former Northern Territory politician
• Terri Butler, former federal Labor MP
• John Button, former Labor Senator for Victoria ^[7]
• John Cain, former Victorian Government Solicitor ^[8]
• Enver Erdogan, Victorian politician
• Nita Green, Senator for Queensland
• Justice Bernard Murphy, Justice of the Federal Court of Australia ^[9]
• Nicholas Reece, Lord Mayor of Melbourne
• Nicola Roxon, former Commonwealth Attorney-General and former federal Labor MP
• Bill Shorten, former federal Labor MP and Minister
• Bill Slater, politician and founder of the law firm Slater and Gordon Lawyers
• Murray Watt, Labor Senator and former Queensland Labor MP
• Anika Wells, federal Labor MP

References

1. "About Maurice Blackburn Lawyers". mauriceblackburn.com.au. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
2. "Steve Bracks | Chairperson, Maurice Blackburn".
3. "Maurice Blackburn Pty Limited". IbisWorld. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
4. "Court approves Centro's $200m class-action settlement". The Sydney Morning Herald. 19 June 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
5. "Mohammed Haneef sues ex-immigration minister Kevin Andrews for defamation". NewsComAu. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
6. "Landmark High Court ruling on BRCA1 gene patent as pensioner wins legal case". The Sydney Morning Herald. 7 October 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
7. "Former Labor minister John Button dies". The Age. 8 April 2008. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
8. "Former rival is new Herbert Geer MP". Lawyers Weekly. 24 August 2012. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
9. "Transcript of Proceedings: Federal Court of Australia Ceremonial Sitting of the Full Court for the Swearing in and Welcome of the Honourable Justice Murphy". fedcourt.gov.au. Federal Court of Australia. Retrieved 15 April 2018.

External links

• Maurice Blackburn: Official website