Raymond Finkelstein

Raymond Antony Finkelstein QC (born in July 1946) is an Australian lawyer and judge. From 1997 until 2011, he served as a judge of the Federal Court of Australia. His judgments were highly influential in commercial law, giving rise to new approaches in insolvency, competition law and class actions.

Finkelstein was born in Munich, Germany in July 1946. His father, Wolf Finkelstein, grew up in Poland, near the border with Ukraine. The Second World War led Wolf Finkelstein to Germany, where he met fellow Pole Lisa Altstock. In 1951, as stateless Jews, the family came to Melbourne by boat.

Finkelstein's secondary education was at Elwood High School, where he was reportedly a rebellious and disobedient student. In 1965, he was accepted to study at Monash University, where he obtained a Bachelor of Jurisprudence and a Bachelor of Laws. Finkelstein was a teaching fellow at Monash University Law School from 1974 to 1975.

In 1975 Finkelstein began practicing as a barrister at the Victorian bar. He shared chambers with fellow JewsRon Castan, Alan Goldberg and Ron Merkel. It was first dubbed "Bankruptcy Chambers", then "Golan Heights" and eventually became one of Australia's busiest commercial practices. He was made a Queen's Counsel in 1986. In 1992, he served for one year as acting Victorian Solicitor-General.

...
Wikipedia