Michael Cope is a Special Counsel with Cornwalls, a national law firm with offices in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.

Michael commenced his legal career at a well known Brisbane legal firm specialising in criminal law where he assisted representing the Queensland Police Union before the Fitzgerald Inquiry. These days he practices in commercial litigation, mainly building disputes.

Michael has a long standing interest in civil liberties issues and has been active in the Council and other human rights related organisations for most of his adult life.

Michael was Vice-President of the Council between 1999 and 2005, and has held the office of President from 2005.

Angus was elected as Junior Vice President in 2015. He is a Partner and Trade Marks Attorney at Irish Bentley Lawyers and practices in intellectual property, taxation and administrative law. He holds a Masters of European Intellectual Property Law from Stockholm University, Sweden having his thesis published in the Nordic Intellectual Property Law Review, and a Graduate Diploma of Intellectual Property Law at Melbourne University. He has a strong community focus and is also the current Vice-Chair of Electronic Frontiers Australia and sits on the Executive Board of The Legal Forecast as Editor.

Angus has a passion for advocating the importance of civil liberties and believes that an informed and unified understanding of the importance of civil liberties is fundamental to society.

Terry O’Gorman’s public role in the Queensland and Australian Councils for Civil Liberties is well known.

He has been practicing solely as a criminal defence lawyer since 1976 and is an Accredited Criminal Law Specialist in Queensland.

Terry has sat on the Queensland Law Society Criminal Law Committee since 1979 and has been an Executive Member of the National Association for Criminal Lawyers since its inception in 1986. Terry is also a frequent speaker at National and International Criminal Law Conferences.

Katherine has been a member of the Council executive since 2018 and was appointed secretary of the Council in 2019.

With a background in research and musicianship as well as legal, Katherine brings a wide range of skills and talent to the Council.