Ruth McColl

Ruth Stephanie McColl AO is a judge of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, the highest court in the State of New South Wales, Australia, which forms part of the Australian court hierarchy.

Ruth McColl obtained a Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Laws from Sydney University in 1975. Prior to her appointment to the Court of Appeal in 2003, Ruth McColl had been a Senior Counsel at the New South Wales Bar since 1994. She was the first woman President of the New South Wales Bar Association. She was also the President of the Australian Bar Association. She has also been a part time Commissioner of the New South Wales Law Reform Commission, President of the Public Interest Law Clearing House, Assistant Commissioner of the Independent Commission Against Corruption, and Counsel assisting the Coroner in relation to the inquest into the 1997 Thredbo landslide. At the Bar, her main areas of practice were defamation and corporations law.

In 2004, Ruth McColl was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for service to the law, to continuing professional development and education, particularly for women, and to the community in matters affecting Indigenous groups and youth.

Ruth McColl is the current Chairperson of the Judicial Conference of Australia.