John Dixon is a former judge at the Supreme Court of Victoria, who had a legal career spanning 40 years.
John Dixon is a graduate of the law school at the University of Queensland and completed his Masters of Laws at University of Melbourne.[1]
From 1977 Dixon practised as a lawyer,[1] spending 27 years of his practice in criminal and commercial law. As a barrister, he worked in many jurisdictions in commercial law. He specialised in investment law and professional negligence. He also practised as a mediator and was a certified arbitrator.[2]
He was appointed to the Supreme Court of Victoria in the Trials Division[1] on 14 September 2014.[2]
During his tenure as judge, he presided over some complex class actions, including by victims of the Black Saturday bushfires in 2009,[3] another which challenged legal fees charged by lawyers, and the Rebel Wilson defamation case against Bauer Media in 2018.
Dixon was a Fellow of the Australian Institute for Commercial Arbitration. He also occupied positions on a number of bodies, including:[2]
Dixon retired in September 2023. In his farewell ceremony, which was live-streamed on 27 September,[4] Dixon called for the recognition of Indigenous Australians in the Constitution, ahead of the 2023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendum.[5]