Legendary Australian barrister and former politician Tom Hughes, KC, has died aged 101.
Hughes, a former federal attorney-general and top silk, appeared in a string of high-profile defamation cases, including for footballer Andrew Ettinghausen and the late stockbroker Rene Rivkin, as well as being a leader in commercial and constitutional law.
Tom Hughes, KC, in 2005.
“Farewell to a wonderful father. What an incredibly long and good life. Vale Dad. We love you and will always miss you,” Hughes’ daughter, Lucy Turnbull, said in a social media post on Thursday.
Hughes died at midday on Thursday two days after his 101st birthday.
Former High Court Justice Michael McHugh described Hughes in 2005 as “one of the greatest barristers the Australian legal profession has produced”.
Then prime minister Malcolm Turnbull with his grandson Jack, wife Lucy and his daughter Daisy, son-in-law James Brown and parents-in-law Tom and Christine Hughes and at Government House in Canberra, 2015.Credit: Fairfax
“Not least among the many astonishing aspects of his career has been the longevity of his fame and success,” McHugh said.
“The demand for the services of barristers, like the demand for the services of actors, begins to decline after they pass middle age. Only the exceptionally able can overcome this iron law of professional life. That Tom Hughes was still the one that solicitors wanted to brief even when he was in his seventies and early eighties is the most convincing evidence of his greatness as an advocate.”
He is survived by his wife Christine, his children Lucy, Tom and Michael and their families.
More to come.