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Kirsten Edwards SC

BA LLB (Hons) (ANU) (1996) LLM (Yale) (2000)
Admitted as a legal practitioner 1999
Admitted to the Bar 2009
​Appointed senior counsel in 2023

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E : [email protected]

Kirsten practices in criminal law and inquests and inquiries. Her criminal practice includes regular appearances in the District Court, Court of Criminal Appeal and the High Court. She also advises and appears in complex corporate crime matters. 

Kirsten’s appearances as junior counsel in the High Court include significant cases in evidence law such as IMM, Hughes and Kadir & Grech, in criminal law including Dansie, BA v King ​and Mitchell and, in relation to DNA evidence, Forbes and Aytugrul.
 
Kirsten has a national practice in coronial inquests. She appears as Counsel Assisting the Coroner and on behalf of families, government departments and private parties, particularly medical professionals and sporting groups. She recently appeared in appeals arising from the inquest into the death of Kumanjayi Walker in the Northern Territory.

Kirsten’s inquiry work includes several matters (as senior and junior counsel) assisting the Judicial Commission of NSW and appearing for the ACT Victims of Crime Commissioner in the ‘Sofronoff Inquiry’ in relation to the ACT Criminal Justice system. She has also appeared in Royal Commissions, several ICAC hearings and in NCAT for disciplinary matters on behalf of individuals and for bodies including the Bar Association.
 
Kirsten is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the School of Law at UNSW where she co-teaches a course involving advocacy, evidence and ethics and she has also lectured in evidence law at the University of Sydney Law School and UTS Law School.
 
Before coming to the Bar, Kirsten graduated with First Class Honours from ANU Law Faculty, was an Associate to Justice Michael Kirby in the High Court and completed a Masters in Law at Yale Law School as a Fulbright Scholar. From 2003-2006 she worked at the Legal Aid Commission as a criminal defence solicitor and in 2006-2009 Kirsten was a Solicitor Advocate at the Crown Solicitor’s Office (Inquiries and Criminal Law).  In 2005 Kirsten spent 6 months working with the Innocence Project in the USA for prisoners on death row and serving sentences of life without parole.

​
Principal areas of Practice

  • Coronial inquests
  • Commissions of inquiry
  • Criminal law
  • Appellate
  • Corporate crime
  • Disciplinary tribunals


For further details or enquiries regarding Kirsten Edwards' areas of expertise, fees and terms of engagement please contact her Clerk.

CONTACT HERE
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Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation