In memoriam Benjamin Buckley

1990 - 2021

Our remarkable friend and beloved Chamber colleague Benjamin Buckley passed away in January 2021.

Benjamin was born on 28 March 1990 in Hong Kong.  He grew up in Hong Kong where he attended Sha Tin Junior School and then King George V Secondary School.

After school, Benjamin moved to New Zealand where he became a ski instructor at Coronet Peak. 

In 2009, Benjamin attended the University of Queensland graduating in 2013 with degrees in Law and Arts, with majors in International Relations and Economics.  Benjamin spent his holidays teaching skiing in Japan and New Zealand.

Following law school, Benjamin became the Associate to His Honour Judge D G Searles of the District Court of Queensland.  He later became the Associate to the Honourable Justice R W Gotterson AO of the Queensland Court of Appeal, a past member of Murray Gleeson Chambers.    

In 2016, Benjamin was called to the Bar and joined Murray Gleeson Chambers as a reader before becoming a full-time member.

Murray Gleeson Chambers was founded on the ideals of collegiality, independence and service.  Benjamin was the embodiment of those ideals.  From the start he impressed with his enthusiasm for the law and life itself.  Benjamin practised the law with skill, industry and true dedication to his clients.  Benjamin cared deeply about his cases and he worked assiduously on them.  He developed a strong and broad practice at the Bar. 

After undergoing 8 months of intensive treatment for Acute Myeloid Leukaemia in 2018, Benjamin demonstrated extraordinary courage, tenacity, resilience and passion for life and the law, by returning to the Bar and re-building his practice. Benjamin relapsed in late 2020 and passed away far too soon on 18 January 2021.  

Benjamin left a lasting impression on all at Murray Gleeson Chambers.  To honour Benjamin and his contribution to our group, Murray Gleeson Chambers has created a reader’s program in his name. 

The Benjamin Buckley Reader’s Room is offered to new barristers at a reduced rent for a one-year period. In this way, we, and those who benefit from the room, honour his memory and the remarkable qualities Benjamin exemplified.

For more information about the readership program, please click here.