Rate My Professor David Heilpern

Professor David Heilpern is the Dean of Law and Clinical Professor at Southern Cross University, where he also serves as Chair of Discipline (Law) within the Faculty of Business, Law and Arts. Appointed to this leadership role in August 2022, he brings extensive experience from a distinguished career in law and the judiciary. Heilpern earned his Bachelor of Legal Studies from Macquarie University and his Master of Laws by research from Southern Cross University. A founding member of the Southern Cross Law School, he co-established the program in 1992 and taught key subjects such as constitutional law, criminal law and procedure, and contracts for over a decade while practicing as a litigation lawyer on the New South Wales North Coast. His legal practice included representation of environmental groups like the North East Forest Alliance and Nimbin Hemp.

From 1998 to 2020, Heilpern served as a Magistrate in the New South Wales Local Court, appointed as one of the youngest magistrates in Australia. He handled diverse jurisdictions including criminal, mining, family, industrial, coronial, and children’s matters, held the position of Senior Civil Magistrate for five years, and functioned as the principal judicial trainer for new magistrates throughout Australia and the Pacific region. In recognition of his contributions, Southern Cross University named him Alumni of the Decade in 2005. Heilpern has authored four books, notably Fear or Favour: Sexual Assault of Young Prisoners (1998, Southern Cross University Press, foreword by Justice Michael Kirby), Rough Deal: Your Guide to Drug Laws (1998, second edition 2006 with Steven Bolt), and How Do You Plead: Representing Yourself When Charged with Drink-Driving in New South Wales Local Courts (2003 with Helen Walsh), alongside more than twenty peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters. His scholarship and writings focus on judicial education, drug law reform, the over-representation of Aboriginal people in the criminal justice system, prison reform, and victims' rights. Recently, he delivered the prestigious Hal Wootten Lecture at the University of New South Wales in 2024, becoming the first sitting Dean of Law and former magistrate to do so. As Dean, Heilpern emphasizes innovative legal education pathways, including three-year law degrees and associate degrees, to stimulate and fulfill students while forging strong connections to professional practice.