Arthur Metaxas

Background

Arthur Metaxas was born on 8 April 1953. His documented education and legal training took place in Western Australia, and Perth became the center of the professional life that followed.

Western Australia's legal profession is regulated by the Legal Practice Board of Western Australia, an independent statutory authority within the state's public sector. The Board decides who is admitted to practise law, issues annual practising certificates and resolves complaints about lawyers' conduct. Metaxas's admission to practice in the state in 1976 placed him within this system of admission and regulation.

Education

Metaxas studied law at the University of Western Australia, a university based in Perth. Its Law School is the fifth oldest in Australia, according to the university, and it ranks in the top 150 for Law and Legal Studies in the 2024 QS World University Rankings by Subject.

According to his firm's biography, he graduated with a Bachelor of Laws with Honours from the university in 1974. He is also associated with a Bachelor of Jurisprudence (B.Juris.) from the same university and an honorary Bachelor of Laws. These studies were followed by his admission to practise in Western Australia in 1976.

Career

Metaxas's professional career began with his admission to practice in Western Australia on 23 December 1976. From 1981 to 1997 he was a partner of Lavan & Walsh and its successors. The firm traces its origins to Michael Gibson Lavan, an Irish-born barrister, and it had become Lavan & Walsh in 1920 when a partnership was formed with John Francis Walsh. In May 1983 it merged with Morris Crawcour & Solomon and took the name Lavan Solomon, which later became part of the national firm Phillips Fox.

He was also a partner of Mallesons Stephen Jaques, a commercial law firm. Its origins lie in a Sydney practice founded by Montague Stephen in 1849, and the Stephen Jaques & Stephen firm opened a London office in 1976. In 1987 Stephen Jaques Stone James merged with Mallesons and the combined firm became Mallesons Stephen Jaques, which joined King & Wood in 2012 to form King & Wood Mallesons.

Since 1997 he has practised on his own account and in various partnerships, according to his firm's biography. He is a partner of Metaxas Legal, a firm based in Perth.

Two disciplinary decisions concern his practice. A public reprimand for professional misconduct appears in the Legal Practice Board's register for 2015 to 2019, and a finding of unsatisfactory professional conduct appears in the register for 2020 to 2023. Both were made by the State Administrative Tribunal.

References

• Our People, Metaxas Legal Firm biography stating his Bachelor of Laws (Honours) from the University of Western Australia in 1974, admission to practice in Western Australia in 1976, partnership at Lavan & Walsh and its successors from 1981 to 1997, and later practice on his own account and in partnerships.
• Register of Disciplinary Action 2015-19 Legal Practice Board of Western Australia register listing his date and jurisdiction of admission (Western Australia, 23 December 1976) and a public reprimand for professional misconduct imposed by the State Administrative Tribunal.
• Register of Disciplinary Action 2020-23 Legal Practice Board of Western Australia register containing a finding of unsatisfactory professional conduct against him, decided by the State Administrative Tribunal.