Education

Chief Justice Keane was educated at St. Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace

St. Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace

St Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace is a Greater Public Schools private, Roman Catholic, day school for boys only, located in Spring Hill, an inner suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia...

, the University of Queensland

University of Queensland

The University of Queensland, also known as UQ, is a public university located in state of Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest and largest university in Queensland and the fifth oldest in the nation...

 and at Magdalen College

Magdalen College, Oxford

Magdalen College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2006 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £153 million. Magdalen is currently top of the Norrington Table after over half of its 2010 finalists received first-class degrees, a record...

 of the University of Oxford

University of Oxford

The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...

. While at Oxford, he was awarded the Vinerian Scholarship

Vinerian Scholarship

The Vinerian Scholarship is a scholarship given to the University of Oxford student that "gives the best performance in the examination for the Degree of Bachelor of Civil Law." Currently, £2,400 is given to the winner of the scholarship, with an additional £950 awarded to a proxime accessit...

, a scholarship given to the student that "gives the best performance in the examination for the Degree of Bachelor of Civil Law".

Professional life

Keane went to the bar in 1978, took silk in 1988, was appointed Solicitor-General for the State of Queensland in 1992. In 2005, Keane was appointed a Judge of Appeal of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Queensland

Supreme Court of Queensland

The Supreme Court of Queensland, which is based at the Law Courts Complex, is the superior court for the Australian State of Queensland and sits around the middle of the Australian court hierarchy...

, the highest court in the Australian State of Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

. On 10 February 2010, Attorney-General Robert McClelland

Robert McClelland (Australian politician)

Robert Bruce McClelland is the Attorney-General of Australia. He has been an Australian Labor Party member of theAustralian House of Representatives since March 1996, representing the Division of Barton, New South Wales...

 announced that Keane would be appointed as the next Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Australia

Federal Court of Australia

The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court of record which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law , along with some summary criminal matters. Cases are heard at first instance by single Judges...

. On 22 March 2010, Keane took up his current role as Chief Justice of the Federal Court.

Chief Justice Keane has published a number of articles, and has been mentioned as a possible appointee to the High Court of Australia

High Court of Australia

The High Court of Australia is the supreme court in the Australian court hierarchy and the final court of appeal in Australia. It has both original and appellate jurisdiction, has the power of judicial review over laws passed by the Parliament of Australia and the parliaments of the States, and...

.