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Email

csw55@cam.ac.uk

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Education CV

Education

  • Doctor of Philosophy (Law) candidate, University of Cambridge
  • Visiting Doctoral Researcher, Harvard Law School, Harvard University
  • Master of Philosophy (Criminology), University of Cambridge
  • Master of Laws, University of New England
  • Bar Practice Course, Bar Association of Queensland
  • Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice, The College of Law
  • Bachelor of Laws (Honours), Griffith University
  • Bachelor of International Business (International Relations), Griffith University

Admissions

  • Barrister of the High Court of Australia
  • Barrister of the Federal Court of Australia
  • Barrister of the Supreme Court of Queensland (First Call to Bar: 2007)
  • Lawyer of the Supreme Court of Queensland

Biography

Carly Whelan is a qualified Australian lawyer and PhD in Law candidate at the University of Cambridge who is committed to the pursuit of justice, ensuring vulnerable people have a voice, and the empowerment of women and girls. She was selected as a Visiting Doctoral Researcher at Harvard Law School in 2024. Carly has dedicated her career to the practice of criminal law, as well as broader policy and legislative reform of the criminal justice system. She also researches and teaches across all aspects of the criminal justice system.

Possessing extensive experience in the administration of justice, Carly was appointed as a Senior Crown Prosecutor with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in Queensland and held advocate positions for over 15 years. Carly has prosecuted criminal offences in the Supreme, District, Childrens and Magistrates Courts in Queensland. She has conducted hundreds of serious, complex and high-profile court hearings including superior court jury and judge alone trials, legal arguments, sentences, breach hearings, bail applications, appeals to the District Court, as well as appeared as junior counsel in the Queensland Court of Appeal.

With a keen interest in advancing women’s rights, Carly was seconded as a Principal Legal Officer to provide legal and policy advice to the Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce, chaired by The Honourable Margaret McMurdo AC, in 2021-22. The Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce examined how best to legislate against coercive control; reforms to address domestic, family and sexual violence; and women and girls’ experiences across the criminal justice system in Queensland. She has also undertaken the role of Counsel Assisting the Coroner, for the Southern Coroner, in respect of coronial inquest matters in the Coroners Court of Queensland.

In 2023, Carly was selected for the national Most Influential Leading Lawyers List, Australasian Lawyer, Australia, that recognises lawyers who have had the greatest impact on Australian laws, legal profession and society over the last 18 months. It highlights their significant accomplishments in facilitating justice for all and providing a voice to those who otherwise might not be heard.

In acknowledgement of her work with the Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce and as a Senior Crown Prosecutor, Carly was a national finalist for General Counsel of the Year (2022) and Barrister of the Year (2021) in the Women in Law Awards, Lawyers Weekly, Australia. The Women in Law Awards are Australian national awards recognising outstanding women influencing the Australian legal profession, who display key leadership qualities and provide a role model for future female leaders in law.

Passionate about higher and further education, Carly has presented her research internationally at the University of Cambridge, and Law conferences in the United Kingdom and Italy, including the International Congress on Law and Mental Health. She has been a Guest Lecturer for law, criminology and criminal justice courses at the University of Queensland and Griffith University.

Carly has regularly been engaged as a Sessional Academic to teach students and mark assessment for law and criminology courses at the University of Queensland, Queensland University of Technology and Griffith University. She has marked admissions assessment for the Faculty of Law at the University of Cambridge. Carly has also judged the Hughes Hall Mooting Competition at the University of Cambridge and the International Criminal Law Moot at the Queensland University of Technology.

Doctoral Honours and Awards (selected)

  • Squire Postgraduate Studentship in Law, Rebecca Flower Squire Fund (2024)
  • Freda Freeman Commemorative Fellowship, Graduate Women Queensland, Fellowships Fund Inc. (2024)
  • Wright Rogers Law Scholarship, Wright Rogers Scholarship Fund (2024)
  • Cambridge Law Journal Partial PhD Studentship, Cambridge Law Journal (2023 & 2024)
  • Modern Law Review Scholarship, Modern Law Review (2023 & 2024)
  • NCWQ Bursary for a PhD Student, National Council of Women of Queensland (2023)

Other Honours and Awards (selected)

  • Advancement of Women Award – Finalist, Zonta Club of Brisbane Inc. (2024)
  • Most Influential Leading Lawyers List, Australasian Lawyer, Australia (2023)
  • General Counsel of the Year – Finalist, Women in Law Awards, Lawyers Weekly, Australia (2022)
  • Barrister of the Year – Finalist, Women in Law Awards, Lawyers Weekly, Australia (2021)
  • Winner of the Partnership Award as part of the Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce Secretariat, Strategic Policy and Legal Services Divisional Excellence Awards, Queensland Government (2022)
  • Wakefield Scholarship, The Wakefield Trust, University of Cambridge (2018)
  • Golden Key International Honour Society, University of New England (2007)
  • Griffith University Award for Academic Excellence 2006, Griffith University (2007)

Fields of research

  • Criminal Law
  • Criminal Procedure
  • Criminal Justice

 

Supervisors

Supervisor
Professor Antje du Bois-Pedain
Professor of Criminal Law and Philosophy, Faculty of Law
Deputy Director of the Centre for Penal Theory and Penal Ethics, Institute of Criminology

Advisor
Professor Findlay Stark
Professor of Criminal Law, Faculty of Law
Co-Director of the Cambridge Centre for Criminal Justice