| Synopsis: |
Jiawei Shen (b.1948, China, from 1989, Australia)Tom Hughes QC2004Oil on canvas, 167 x 167 cmCollection of New South Wales Bar AssociationPurchased 2004(c) Jiawei Shen For more than thirty years, Tom Hughes, a scion of a notable Sydney family of high achievers, was one of Australia's top barristers, renowned, respected and sometimes feared for his dominating presence in the courtroom. Equally at home in all jurisdictions, his theatrical style, command of language and forensic skills filled public galleries, exposed witnesses, persuaded juries and ensured that judges paid attention. An icon of the Sydney and Australian Bar, he appeared in a raft of celebrated cases, became the subject of many media profiles and was, from the 1970s to the 1990s, the country's most expensive advocate. Hughes has also been a wartime pilot, a politician, an activist federal Attorney-General, a grazier, and a racehorse owner. He survived a broken marriage, a spiteful sacking from ministerial office and a prolonged though not permanent loss of an inherited Catholic faith. He endured years of frustration before finding the right partner to replicate the perfect marriage of his beloved parents.Even in dark times, however, a thorough professional and a prodigious worker, Hughes remained focused on his first love, the law, always upholding its traditions and processes. In addition to published material, the book draws on a huge trove of personal records, including fee books, intimate diaries, autobiographical jottings and private correspondence, supplemented by interviews with Hughes, his family, friends and colleagues. Using these sources, the book provides insights into a many-sided character - telling the story of how Hughes and his immediate forebears embraced more of their English than their Irish heritage while becoming distinctively Australian. It also offers a personal perspective on several decades of Australian political, social and legal history. ** Ian Hancock speaking on Tom Hughes QC - Many Sides to A Character, The Sydney Institute_13 July 2016 Listen to podcast...In the media...Tom Hughes on FIVEaa Adelaide, Afternoons with Jeremy Cordeaux _24 June 2016 Listen to interview...Hughes who's who, Richard Ackland, The Saturday Paper, 18-24 June 2016 Read article...Tom Hughes on 891 ABC Adelaide with Ian Henschke, Barrister Tom Hughes_16 June 2016 Listen to interview...Tom Hughes on ABC Radio National, Breakfast with Fran Kelly, The remarkable life of Tom Hughes QC_8 June 2016 Listen to interview...Tom Hughes on ABC Radio Sydney 702, Mornings with Wendy Harmer_8 June 2016 Tom Hughes on ABC Radio Canberra 666, Mornings with Genevieve Jacobs_8 June 2016 Justinian, On the Couch interviews Ian Hancock, 4 June 2016 Read interview...Federal election 2016: Hughes sorry for Abbott 'lunatic' jibe, Rosie Lewis, The Australian - National Affairs, 4 June 2016 Read article...Making 'lunatic' Abbott Lib leader a folly, Hughes wrote to Turnbull, Troy Bramston, The Australian, 3 June 2016 Read article...Tom Hughes urged defeated Malcolm Turnbull to stay in politics, Andrew Clark, Australian Financial Review, 3 June 2016 Read article...Three ministers and a funeral, Australian Financial Review, 3 June 2016 Read extract...Tom Hughes sounded warning on switch from son-in-law Malcolm Turnbull to 'lunatic' Tony Abbott in 2009, Fergus Hunter, SMH, 3 June 2016 Read article...UPDATED: Tom Hughes sounded warning on switch from son-in-law Malcolm Turnbull to 'lunatic' Tony Abbott in 2009, Fergus Hunter, SMH, 3 June 2016 Read article...Malcolm Turnbull's father-in-law sent him a letter warning Tony Abbott was a 'lunatic' and if he became Liberal leader he would 'be like a bull in a china shop', AAP and John Carney for Daily Mail Australia, 3 June 2016 Read article...PM's dad-in-law apologised to Abbott, picked up by SBS, 3 June 2016 Read article...PM's dad-in-law apologised to Abbott, picked up by AAP, 3 June 2016 Read article...Tom Hughes, dropping Tony a line, Katharine Murphy, The Guardian, 3 June 2016 Read article...PM hoses down another Abbott-related problem, Quentin Dempster, The New Daily, 3 June 2016 Read article...Election 2016: Turnbull dad-in-law's sorry-not-sorry note to Abbott, Fleur Anderson, Australian Financial Review, 3 June 2016 Read article...From the Launch Speech by The Hon Murray Gleeson AC, QC (29 June 2016) "The New South Wales Bar for several years has had, on the wall of its Common Room, a fine portrait of TEF Hughes QC, one of its former Presidents. Now there is another fine portrait of the same subject, this time in book form, available to the Bar and to the public. The author, Ian Hancock, is to be congratulated. This book contains a skilfully written account of Tom's life and, as well, a measured and just assessment of his contribution to the law and to politics.The Federation Press made an excellent decision that Tom's story should be available to the profession and the community, and followed through with a handsome publication...Tom Hughes was one of the best and most successful advocates produced by the New South Wales Bar. The book conveys the enormous range of his experience and the extent of his achievements. Ian Hancock, no doubt assisted by Tom, has made an excellent selection of cases to bring this out, and his commentary on these cases is balanced and well-informed...He is a great barrister, and a great Australian." Read Launch Speech...Media from the Launch Tom Hughes launches biography - bruised ribs and all, Bryce Corbett, Australian Financial Review, 30 June 2016 Read article...Electing Abbott put 'principal lunatic in charge of the asylum': Tom Hughes, Margot Saville, Crikey, 30 June 2016 Read article... |