Proud studied at the University of Melbourne, where he completed a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws. Founded in 1853, the University of Melbourne was the first university established in the Colony of Victoria, and it has remained one of Australia's principal public universities.
In Victoria, legal practice was entered through admission as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria. Proud's law degree preceded his admission to the bar in Victoria in 1974.
Proud was admitted to the bar in Victoria in 1974 and built his legal career in Melbourne. He became a partner of Phillips Fox, a Melbourne law firm that by the late 2000s operated as the Australasian alliance partner of the global firm DLA Piper, with 735 lawyers across eight offices.
Later in his career at the firm, Proud headed its insurance practice. A colleague's tribute describes him as a mentor to younger lawyers and records that he retired at the end of September, after a career at Phillips Fox and DLA Piper. Australian insurance law of that era combined the federal Insurance Contracts Act 1984 with common law principles, which remained central to many questions of insurance practice.
Phillips Fox was later absorbed by DLA Piper, which opened for business in Australia and closed the DLA Phillips Fox name.
