AALA congratulates Sharon Burchell and Pardeep Tiwana on their appointment as Judges of the County Court of Victoria
Ms Burchell’s appointment as a County Court judge follows a career as a barrister, including experience at the Victorian Bar, Western Australian Bar and in the Federal and High Courts of Australia. Ms Burchell graduated LL B (Hons) B Econ from Murdoch University in Western Australia, served Articles at Blake Dawson Waldron in Perth and was first admitted to practice in Western Australia. She remained with the firm as an employee solicitor, first in Perth, then in Melbourne for some 6 months. She served as a Judicial Associate for some 2 ½ years – first with Justice Habersberger of the Victorian Supreme Court; then with Justice Kenny of the Federal Court. She read with Samantha Marks (now Her Honour Judge Marks of the County Court). She was at the Bar for 11 years, and served on the Committee of the Women Barristers Association and on the Bar Pro Bono and Human Rights Committees. Since 2015, Ms Burchell has been a judicial registrar in the commercial division of the County Court.
Mr Tiwana was previously a law clerk and solicitor at Paul Vale Criminal Lawyers and a criminal barrister at 4 Fountain Court Chambers/Citadel Chambers in the United Kingdom. He was admitted to the England and Wales Bar in 1994 and signed the Victorian Bar Roll in 2009. Mr Tiwana holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) from the University of Wolverhampton.
Marcus Dempsey and Anna Robertson were also appointed as County Court judges, and David Ryan to the Coroners Court.
On their appointment, Attorney General Jaclyn Symes stated: “Our four new judges and coroner are experts in their fields and will bring significant knowledge to cases before the Coroners Court and County Court. I congratulate them on their new roles.”
For the Victorian Government announcement go to
The Judicial College of Victoria welcomed and congratulated appointees.
See also SBS Hindi article on Mr Tiwana's appointment.
AALA notes that His Honour Judge Arushan Pillay who was born in South Africa and is Tamil Indian background was appointed to the County Court in 2019.
