Rebecca McMahon

Admitted as a legal practitioner in 2003
Admitted as a barrister in 2021

Prior to commencing at the Bar, Rebecca was the principal lawyer of her private law firm (2011 to 2021), appearing for clients in criminal law matters in the Local, District and Supreme Courts as well as appearing in the Mental Health Review Tribunal, Guardianship Tribunal and inquiries. From 2010 to 2011 she was the managing lawyer of the Redfern office of the Aboriginal Legal Service. Rebecca was a criminal defence lawyer at the NSW Legal Aid Commission between 2007 and 2010 and a lawyer at the NSW Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions from 2003 to 2007.  
 
Rebecca is currently a Senior Visiting Fellow at the Faculty of Law, University of New South Wales. Rebecca has lectured at UNSW since 2010 in Criminal Law, Litigation, Evidence and Social Justice and contributed to the development of the criminal law and advocacy components of the UNSW’s practical legal training program, which she has also taught. Rebecca has also lectured criminal law subjects at the University of Sydney, UTS and Charles Sturt University.
 
Rebecca is the co-chair and one of the founding members of the Bugmy Bar Book project, which aims to assist legal practitioners and the courts in understanding the impact of experiences of disadvantage in the context of sentencing.      

Rebecca was the 2021 recipient of the Terry Keaney Memorial award which recognises dedication to the profession, excellence as a criminal lawyer, commitment to clients and concern for social justice issues.

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Qualifications 

  • BA LLB - Macquarie University - 2002
  • Master of Laws (Crime and Criminology) - University of New South Wales - 2010
  • NMAS accredited mediator

Principal areas of practice

  • Criminal Law
  • Parole hearings
  • Coronial inquests
  • Commissions of inquiry
  • Mental Health Review Tribunal
  • Guardianship Tribunal 

Appointments and memberships

  • Member of the NSW Bar Association’s First Nations Committee
  • Junior counsel assisting the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability
  • Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions junior counsel panel
  • NSW Legal Aid Commission summary and indictable panel 

Publications

  • J Hunter, T Henning, G Edmond, R McMahon, J Metzger, M San Roque, (2021) ‘The ‘Trial: Principles, Processes and Evidence’, Federation Press
  • N Cowdery, J Hunter, R McMahon, “Sentencing and disadvantage: the use of research to inform the court”, Judicial Officers’ Bulletin, June 2020, Vol 32, No. 5
  • V Sentas and R McMahon, "Changes To Police Powers of Arrest In NSW" (2014) 25 Current Issues in Criminal Justice 785.

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For further details or enquiries regarding Rebecca McMahon’s areas of expertise, fees and terms of engagement please contact her Clerk.


CONTACT HERE
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