The Chief Justice in Conversation

In 25 years as a judge of the Supreme Court, Chief Justice Alan Blow AO has all manner of stories to tell. Join him in conversation with his former associate, barrister Regina Weiss. Together they will consider some of the leading cases of his career, and the impacts they’ve had on Tasmania both within and beyond the courtroom.

A celebration of the 200th anniversary of the Supreme Court in Tasmania, and the Chief Justice’s last sitting in Burnie prior to retirement, this is a special not-to-be-missed conversation.

Attend online

To attend online, register via Zoom, and we'll email you details. To register for the in-person event, get your free tickets through Humanitix.

Pre-event refreshments

Head to the venue early and enjoy complimentary refreshments from 5.30pm.

Parking

Free parking is available at the venue.

The experts

The Honourable Justice Alan Blow AO is the current Chief Justice of Tasmania. After graduating from the University of Sydney with Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws degrees, He went on to practise a barrister in civil litigation, criminal and family law in Devonport (1976–1987), and at the bar in Hobart (1987–2000), before being appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court of Tasmania in 2000. He has also a long time lecturer in Supreme Court Advocacy at the University of Tasmania's Centre for Legal Studies, teaching postgraduate legal practice students. He was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1995, was a part-time Deputy President of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (1993–2000), and has been a member of the Governing Council of the Australian Judicial Officers Association since 2000. He was the President of the Law Society of Tasmania (1989-1990), and the Chairman of Trustees of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (1991–1997). In 2018 Justice Blow was appointed Officer of the Order of Australia for 'distinguished service to the judiciary and to the law', particularly as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Tasmania, to legal education and professional standards, and to the community.

Regina Weiss began her legal career as Associate to Chief Justice Alan Blow AO in 2005. In 2006, she became a Federal Prosecutor and then moved to The Hague to work for the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC). Regina spent nine years prosecuting war crimes and crimes against humanity on cases predominantly from east Africa including Kenya and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Since returning to Australia, Regina headed up legal teams of federal government agencies in Canberra including Sport Integrity Australia before her call to the Tasmanian Bar in 2021. Regina remains on the ICC list of counsel for victims and defense, is the ICC Bar Association (ICCBA) focal point on sexual and gender-based violence and Chairs the ICCBA Ecocide Working Group. Locally, Regina acts for plaintiffs in institutional abuse matters, amongst other things, and is currently leading a review into former police officer Paul Reynolds. Regina is also Chair of the Red Cross International Humanitarian Law Committee.

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