How we started
In early 2014, five young criminal law barristers sharing small rooms in Owen Dixon Chambers decided it was time to spread their wings. They took the brave move to find a floor to rent and invited other young and enthusiastic like-minded barristers to join them. To give a veneer of respectability to the outfit, a couple of older hacks were invited to join them (sorry David and Marcus).
The main practice of those on the floor was criminal law and it therefore seemed only fitting to name the floor after the author of the “go-to” criminal law book containing wisdom and wit. And so, David Ross Chambers was formed.
David Ross Chambers
For the first ten years of its existence chambers was located on the 12th Floor of 271 William Street. In criminal law, barristers are constantly in court and the lunchtime table became a venue for animated discussions and advice on legal issues, forensic decisions and judicial strengths and failings. A client did not just have the benefit of their barrister’s skill and experience but that of the whole of chambers.
Traditions and memories were forged over time. The gavelling after jury verdicts, the spaghetti carbonara and the tyre-licks have become firmly entrenched. The Tasmanian conference will not be forgotten by those who attended.
It was a tight-knit group of people who started in chambers, but over time some have left. We lost Peta Murphy to Federal Parliament and then to her untimely death from breast cancer. Fiona Todd and Marcus Dempsey were appointed to the County Court.
Founding Peta Murphy Chambers
In 2024, we moved to the current location on the 9th Floor of 456 Lonsdale Street. We decided it was an appropriate time to honour the legacy of Peta Murphy and changed our name to Peta Murphy Chambers.
Her dedication to doing her best for those she represented, supporting each other but still finding time for enjoyment are principles that we share and strive towards.
