Celebration of the Life and Career of the late Dr John Emmerson QC

Bar Roll No 1246

It is with deep regret that the Bar Council informs members of the death last Thursday 14 August 2014 of Dr John McLaren Emmerson QC. John was 76 (born 4 April 1938).

John was educated at Glamorgan and then Geelong Grammar School. With First Class Honours in the Maths & Sciences, he won General Exhibitions in 1954 & 1955. He shared the Special Exhibition in Biology in 1955 – also achieving Honours in English Literature. He was Dux of the School (the Old Geelong Grammarians Prize) in 1955.

He matriculated to the University of Melbourne, winning a scholarship to Trinity College. At Trinity, he was Editor of Fleurs de Lys, Secretary of the Dialectic Society, and won the Leeper Prize for Oratory. He was the wittiest speaker. He graduated B Sc and M Sc, and was Resident Tutor in Physics at Trinity.

He went to Oxford on a Shell Company Scholarship. In 1964, He graduated D Phil. He was awarded the 1851 Exhibition Scholarship in Physics and, in 1965 became a Junior Fellow at New College. His research and teaching interests were in nuclear physics, and later in particle physics. In 1972, his Symmetry Principles in Particle Physics was published under the Clarendon imprint of Oxford University Press.

After 10 years at Oxford, John returned to Melbourne at the end of 1971 and turned to Law. Studying full-time, he also worked all through Law School as a Patent Attorney at Phillips, Ormonde & Fitzpatrick. He won the Supreme Court Prize in 1974.

He served Articles with John Rodd at Arthur Robinson & Co (now Allens Linklaters) and was admitted to practise in March 1976. He came straight to the Bar and read with John Batt. He had one Reader, Bruce Caine, and took silk in 1985.

John was an acknowledged leader in Intellectual Property Law, with particular interest in patents and copyright, especially pharmaceutical patents.

He was a Director of Barristers’ Chambers Limited; chaired the Commercial Bar Association IP & Trade Practices Committee; served on the Bar Computer Committee; chaired the Bar Demographics Committee; and chaired his List Committee.

His wide-ranging interests included 17th Century British History – in particular printing and related bibliography – he had a notable personal collection; the origins of newspapers; the English Civil War; and opera.

John’s funeral service will be at Christ Church, South Yarra, corner of Toorak and Punt Roads, at 2.00pm on Friday 29 August 2014.

Many members would have unfortunately missed the service. A celebration of the Life and Career of John will be held in the Essoign Club, today, Thursday 4 September starting at 5pm.