Obituary - Patrick William Thomas McCabe

Patrick’s secondary education was at Xavier College. He then worked for the Crown, completing his Law subjects at the University of Melbourne part-time. He was admitted to practice on 1 March 1971 and became a Solicitor at Madden Butler Elder & Graham, being made an Associate in that firm.

He signed the Bar Roll on 13 November 1976 and read with Jeffrey Sher (later QC). For most of his 6 years at the Bar, he was an Inspector appointed by the Victorian Government – with the late David Lafranchi, then a Senior Inspector at the Victorian Corporate Affairs Commission, later Commissioner – to investigate what became known as “bottom of the harbour” schemes. Frank Costigan, in his Royal Commission on the activities of the Federated Ship Painters & Dockers Union, credited the McCabe Lafranchi Report with having exposed such activities in their successful investigation of the Maher Group.

Patrick returned to Madden Butler Elder & Graham in early 1982 and was made a Partner on 1 July that year. He remained with the Firm through its various mergers and names – Dunhill Madden Butler; Deacons; and Norton Rose Fulbright until his retirement in about 2013. He was a Common Lawyer, with a general Common Law practice including Defendants’ Personal Injury work; and he represented Government clients in the Ambulance and Bushfires Royal Commissions.

Requiem Mass will be offered at St Macartan’s Catholic Church, 4 Drake Street Mornington on Friday 25 January 2019 at 12 noon.