Justice McClellan is a Judge of Appeal in New South Wales. Prior to this, he was the Chief Judge at Common Law of Supreme Court of New South Wales, having been appointed to that position in 2005. Before that appointment, he was Judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, Chief Judge of the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales, Chairman of the Sydney Water Inquiry and Assistant Commissioner at the Independent Commission Against Corruption.
Justice McClellan was admitted to practice law in 1974 and appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1985. He became a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2011 for services to the judiciary through the Supreme Court of NSW, to environmental law, and to legal education.
Justice McClellan was sworn in as a judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales on 30 January 2001. He was the Commercial List Judge in 2002-2003 and soon after on 25 August 2003 he was sworn in as Chief Judge of the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales. On 2 September 2005 Justice McClellan was sworn in as Chief Judge at Common Law in the Supreme Court, responsible for the management of the court’s business in major civil litigation and major crime. On 21 February 2013 he was appointed a Judge of Appeal.
Justice McClellan was admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of New South Wales on 26 July 1974 and was admitted to the Bar on 2 May 1975. He practised in many areas of the law, with particular expertise in planning and environmental law, administrative law, valuation and water-related matters. He advised many government agencies and was involved in many issues related to public sector corruption.
Justice McClellan holds degrees in Arts and Law from the University of Sydney.