Prominent former Adelaide Judge and barrister Mark Griffin QC dies, aged 62

Prominent Adelaide lawyer and judge Mark Griffin has died, a month after opening up about his lengthy career and terminal illness.

Adelaide lawyer and former Judge Mark Griffin QC died on Sunday. Picture: Matt Turner

• Defending the Snowtown monsters: Mark Griffin QC reflects

Prominent Adelaide criminal barrister and former District Court Judge, Mark Griffin, QC, died on Sunday morning surrounded by family.

Griffin, who was 62, became gravely ill last month after a diagnosis a year ago of terminal liver cancer.

Friend and colleague Michael Abbott QC said Griffin’s defence of convicted serial killer John Bunting during the year-long Snowtown trial in 2003 showed his fearless approach to advocacy.

“Everyone deserves the best legal representation they can have, even when people say this is a pretty despicable person, and Mark gave Bunting the best possible representation,” Abbott said.

“He fought the fight, which is what being a barrister is all about. He was fearless.”

Abbott and Marie Shaw QC, also a close friend, have begun an annual Mark Griffin QC Duty Solicitor Award, recognising Griffin’s outstanding advocacy and his contribution as a mentor and an example to young practitioners. The first award was made on Friday night and Griffin was informed on Saturday morning.

Shaw, a friend since they were junior counsel together, said they shared an understanding of how fortunate they were to be working in the law.

“No doubt that is partly why Mark so successfully brought humility, empathy and hard work into his advocacy,” Shaw said.

“Not only was he respected by the Bench and revered by his peers and those he mentored but he was deeply loved by us all.”

Michael Abbott, Peter Norman and Mark Griffin outside court in 2008.

The usually private criminal barrister spoke at length last month to The Advertiser about his love of the law, and an earlier brush with death in 2006 from an auto-immune disease.

With about a month left to live, he received a liver transplant which returned him to full health for more than a decade and allowed him to see his son Matthew grow into a young man.

Griffin’s decision to step down from the District Court bench in 2012 – after allegations were made that he had visited massage parlours – caused him enormous embarrassment and ended his career as a judge.

However he returned to private practice, becoming senior counsel for David Eastman during an examination of his conviction for the murder of Canberra police chief Colin Winchester. Griffin also represented the interests of patients underdosed during the chemotherapy scandal in a Coroner’s Inquest that lasted two years.

Griffin, who worked until October, remained close to Matthew’s mother Leslee, although they were divorced.

Criminal barrister Craig Caldicott said Griffin was a great dad who, when diagnosed, wanted to make sure he saw Matthew, a student at St Ignatius, through Year 12.

“He was a fantastic dad, he was a great friend, he will be sadly missed,” Caldicott said.

David Edwardson QC remembered Griffin as an outstanding human being who would be desperately missed by many.

“He was a friend with whom I worked over so many years, always defending,” Edwardson said. “His skill and commitment was universally recognised.”

Originally published as Prominent former Adelaide Judge and barrister Mark Griffin QC dies, aged 62