His Honour brings more than 45 years of legal expertise to the state’s top appellate court. Prior to being appointed to the Supreme Court in 2010, he spent most of his career working in Sydney as a solicitor with international commercial law firm Allen Allen & Hemsley/Allens Arthur Robinson.
Since 2014, Justice Ball has sat in the Commercial and Technology and Construction Lists. He became the List Judge for those lists and the Commercial Arbitration List in 2022.
His Honour started his career in South Australia with Mollison Litchfield in 1980 while also tutoring commercial law at the University of Adelaide. The following year he joined the Australian Law Reform Commission, where he worked on the Insurance Contracts and Evidence Law references. He became a solicitor at Allen & Hemsley in 1983.
Justice Ball was appointed Senior Associate two years later and in 1987 made a Partner in the litigation department.
During his 27 years with the firm, his Honour was involved in several high-profile cases in competition and insolvency law. This included C7, Antico v Heath Fielding Australia, the Linter litigation, Pioneer and Giant Resources litigation and Trade Practices Commission v Australian Meat Holdings.
His Honour graduated from the University of Adelaide in 1978 with a combined degree in Arts and Law. He is a co-author of ‘Kelly and Ball Principles of Insurance Law’, a leading text on Insurance law in Australia.
Justice Ball will be sworn in as a Judge of Appeal on 4 November 2024.
Attorney General Michael Daley said:
“I am delighted to announce the appointment of Justice Michael Ball to the Court of Appeal bench.
“His Honour is a highly respected lawyer and member of the Supreme Court, and his expertise will be invaluable to the Court and everyone who interacts with it.
“I congratulate Justice Ball on this well-deserved achievement.”
