Laura Stein

Laura Grace Stein is an Australian lawyer and judge. She has been Chief Justice of South Australia in the Supreme Court of South Australia since 19 February 2026. She is the first woman to be appointed to the role.

Early life and education Laura Stein grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa. with a 1988 honours thesis on tax deductibility laws. She was a judge's associate to High Court justice Michael McHugh in 1990.

Career Stein began practising as a lawyer in 1991 at Fisher Jeffries, where she stayed for ten years, eventually becoming an equity partner. She was appointed Crown Solicitor in 2020, the third woman to hold the role. She oversaw the government's disputes in the building of the new Royal Adelaide Hospital as well as the development of emergency laws during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stein is a member of the Legal Practitioners Education and Admission Council and the Audit and Risk Management Committee of the Courts Administration Authority.

Stein was sworn in as Chief Justice by Governor Frances Adamson on 19 February 2026, succeeding Chris Kourakis. Stein was sworn in on a Bible that belonged to Australia's first female judge and governor, South Australian Dame Roma Mitchell. Attorney General Kyam Maher said of her appointment, "Justice Stein’s leadership role in building cultural change in the legal profession, following the Equal Opportunity Commissioner’s report on bullying and harassment, makes her uniquely well-placed to lift standards across the profession as Chief Justice."