Fox's documented life is centred on Melbourne, the capital of the Australian state of Victoria, where Fox studied at Monash University and practised law. Melbourne has long been the principal seat of Victoria's legal profession, and its firms and courts have shaped the careers of lawyers trained in the state.
Fox's education included a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Science with pharmacology as a field of study, both taken at Monash University. Monash's Faculty of Law, established in 1964 and based in Melbourne, is consistently ranked among the top law schools in Australia, and entry to its Bachelor of Laws programme is highly competitive.
The law component of Monash's law degrees is recognised by the Victorian Legal Admissions Board, the body concerned with admission to legal practice in the state. Monash's pharmacology study, as described in the university's handbook, provides a foundation for careers in drug discovery and development, whether in research institutes, the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, or government regulatory bodies.
Fox worked as a partner of Phillips Fox, an Australian law firm with origins dating to 1864, when it was founded as P.D. Phillips. Phillips Fox formed an exclusive alliance with the global firm DLA Piper in November 2006, and its Australian operation became DLA Piper Australia on 1 May 2011.
Fox was admitted to practice in Victoria in 1980, which is the earliest documented stage of Fox's legal career. Admission to practice placed Fox within the Victorian legal profession, from which later partnership in a Melbourne commercial firm developed.
