Dr Ruth Higgins SC appointed Australia’s first female Solicitor-General

Dr Ruth Higgins SC

The Centre for Commercial Law and Regulatory Studies (CLARS) warmly congratulates Dr Ruth Higgins SC on her appointment as Solicitor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia.

Ruth Higgins' appointment marks two historic milestones: the first time a woman has been appointed Solicitor-General, and the first time both of Australia’s federal law officers have been women.

CLARS is particularly pleased to note Ruth Higgins’ connection to the Centre. In October last year, she participated in the Monash CLARS Bob Baxt AO Panel on Corporate Reputation, contributing her insights and expertise to a wide-ranging discussion about how corporations can build, lose and regain their reputation.

Ruth Higgins also spoke at a CLARS Commercial Law Student Discussion Forum in 2021 on the topic, ‘The Lives of the Law’, and was Commentator at the 2022 CLARS Law & Business Seminar featuring Professor Kristin van Zwieten, Oxford University, 'What's a Director to Do? Directors' Duties in the Times of Covid?'.
Watch the 2025 Bob Baxt Panel

Ruth Higgins' appointment as Solicitor-General reflects not only her exceptional legal ability and distinguished career at the Bar, but also her deep ongoing engagement with legal scholarship and the academic community.

We extend our congratulations to Ruth on this significant achievement and look forward to her continued contributions to Australian public law and legal practice.

About Dr Ruth Higgins SC

Dr Ruth Higgins SC holds a Doctor of Philosophy (Law) from Balliol College, University of Oxford and a Bachelor of Laws (Hons I) and Diploma of Legal Practice from the University of Glasgow. She was called to the New South Wales Bar in 2006 and appointed senior counsel in 2017.

Ruth Higgins is the immediate past President of the NSW Bar Association, and served as a director of the Australian Bar Association and the Law Council of Australia. Between 2023 and 2026 she was a part-time member of the Takeovers Panel.

She has lectured in law at Corpus Christi College, Oxford University, was a Visiting Scholar at Columbia University, and was elected a Visiting Fellow at each of New College and Harris Manchester College, University of Oxford. Ruth Higgins practises nationally in competition law, constitutional law, class actions, energy, media, corporate criminal law, and corporations law.