Richard Conti

Richard Alan Conti (1937-2016) was a Judge of the Federal Court of Australia from August 2000 until his retirement in August 2007.

Early life and background Richard "Dick" Conti, QC was second of four children to Edwin Harold Davidson Conti, who worked in insurance, and Dorothy Elizabeth Conti (née Pritchard). He was born in 1937 and grew up on the North Shore during the war years. He attended North Sydney Boys High School, played cricket for Lindfield and Roseville and rugby for Gordon. When his father died in 1960, Conti became the breadwinner for his mother and much younger brothers.

He studied at Sydney University Law School in the 1950s and did so part time for he was also working as an articled clerk at his uncle's firm Arthur Pritchard and Co. In a 2005 case involving architectural drawings, Conti was criticised and his verdict overturned by an appeals court because of concerns that his views had prejudiced the case. However, on appeal, the High Court overturned the decision of the Full Federal Court and held that no reasonable apprehension of bias on the part of Justice Conti was established.

Since the beginning of his career, he engaged in a diverse practice of tax, trade practices, intellectual property and corporations law which took him to the Privy Council and many courts in Australia. He has been described as having had profound knowledge of the law, cross examining skills and acute sense of tactics, and absolute integrity. A motto of his was: "Barristers are briefed to fight their client's cause, not to fight each other." He supported and mentored many junior barristers, advising them: "Don’t try to learn all the law. Just know where to look for it".