Western Australia Attorney General Christian Porter

New Judge for the District Court of Western Australia

Victor P Taffa

Mr. John Gerard Staude has been appointed a Judge of the District Court of Western Australia, replacing Judge Robert Mazza who has moved to the Supreme Court of WA.

 Announcing the appointment today, Attorney General Christian Porter said Mr. Staude had experience in both criminal and civil law, particularly commercial and insurance litigation.

 “Mr. Staude brings 28 years experience to the position of Judge of the District Court,” Mr. Porter said.

As a graduate of The University of Western Australia, with a Bachelor of Jurisprudence in 1981 and a Bachelor of Laws in 1982, he started his career at the law firm Talbot & Olivier and was admitted to practice in December 1982. In 1985 he became an associate of the firm and joined the partnership in 1986.

Mr. Staude initially practised mainly as a criminal lawyer appearing in the Court of Petty Sessions, the District and Supreme courts, and the Court of Criminal Appeal.

Mr Staude was appointed to the legal panel of the State Government Insurance Commission in 1988 to defend motor vehicle third party claims, and in 1994 he established a sole practice covering mainly insurance-related litigation instructed by the Insurance Commission, Law Mutual, Municipal Liability Scheme and others.

In 2002 Mr Staude joined the Independent Bar, practising out of Francis Burt Chambers, specialising in civil and commercial litigation in the area of personal injury and insurance cases.

Mr Staude acted as Counsel Assisting the Inquiry into the City of Joondalup in 2004-2005 and served as a Commissioner of the District Court in 2008.

“Mr. Staude is an active member of the Law Society of WA and is currently a member of the Professional Indemnity Insurance Management Committee,” the Attorney General said.

“He is also a member of the WA Bar Association and other organisations and he has presented a number of papers at insurance related conferences.

“Importantly, he has contributed to the education of the legal profession by participating in a number of the Law Society’s Continuing Legal Education seminars.

“His expertise is respected throughout the legal community and I wish him well in the new post.”

Mr. Staude will commence the appointment on March 8, 2010.