Walter Sofronoff

Walter Sofronoff is an Australian jurist and lawyer who served as the President of the Queensland Court of Appeal (2017–2022) and as the Solicitor-General of Queensland from 2005 to 2014.

Early life and education
Sofronoff attended the Anglican Church Grammar School in Brisbane, and completed a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws (Honours) at the University of Queensland in 1976.

Career
Sofronoff was called to the Bar in 1977 and took silk in 1988.

He served as a member (1980–82), vice-president (1992–94) and president (1994–96) of the Bar Association of Queensland Committee. He has also been a member of the Queensland Incorporated Council of Law Reporting (1999–2004), president of the Queensland Anti-Discrimination Tribunal (2001–05), a member of the Royal Australian Navy Reserve (2003–2014) and a member of The University of Queensland Law School Advisory Board (2014–). In 1999, Mr Sofronoff was an adjunct professor of law at The University of Queensland.

Solicitor-General of Queensland
Sofronoff served as the Solicitor-General of Queensland from 2005 to 2014. He was involved in a number of high-profile cases, including those involving surgeon Jayant Patel and the Aurukun Nine, nine men convicted of the gang rape of a 10-year-old girl in far north Queensland. He resigned as solicitor-general in 2014 amid tensions between the Newman government and the legal fraternity that resulted from the appointment of Tim Carmody as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Queensland.

In 2016, Sofronoff was responsible for the successful High Court appeal that overturned the Queensland Court of Appeal's decision to downgrade Gerard Baden-Clay's murder conviction to manslaughter. Although it is normal practice for a sitting solicitor-general to lead High Court appeals, Sofronoff was briefed to appear instead of his successor and solicitor-general at the time, Peter Dunning. After the appeal, it was reported by The Guardian Australia that Sofronoff had charged the Queensland government just $327 plus GST to run the appeal, "despite a QC of Sofronoff's standing usually commanding fees of up to $17,000 a day".

President of the Queensland Court of Appeal
He was appointed President of the Queensland Court of Appeal on 3 April 2017, after President Margaret McMurdo resigned after more than 18 years as a judge of the Court of Appeal. Sofronoff retired from the role on 20 May 2022.

Inquiries and reviews
On 11 May 2015, Sofronoff was appointed as Commissioner for the Grantham Floods Commission of Inquiry. In his written report, Sofronoff concluded that the flood "was a natural disaster and that no human agency caused it or could ever have prevented it".

Sofronoff was appointed to lead a review of Queensland's parole system in 2016. On 6 June 2022, he was appointed as Commissioner for the Commission of Inquiry into Forensic DNA Testing in Queensland.

On 22 December 2022, during the ramifications of the 2021 Australian Parliament House sexual misconduct allegations, Sofronoff was appointed to lead the Australian Capital Territory government's Board of Inquiry into the Criminal Justice System, which reviewed the circumstances surrounding the aborted prosecution of Bruce Lehrmann. Sofronoff's report was provided to the government on 31 July 2023. Sofronoff leaked the report to journalists before it was provided to the government. It was reported that Sofronoff may be investigated by the ACT Integrity Commission over the leak. It was widely reported that at the time Sofronoff handed the report to a journalist at The Australian, he was scheduled to speak at a Queensland Press Club event hosted by The Australian.

Shane Drumgold SC successfully challenged Sofronoff's report by way of a judicial review before the ACT Supreme Court. The court found that all adverse findings were infected by the apprehension of bias, whilst some of them were also vitiated as being either a finding that no reasonable person could make, or were the product of a failure to provide procedural fairness. Evidence tendered in the judicial review, revealed that prior to prematurely providing the final report to The Australian columnist Janet Albrechtsen, Sofronoff had 273 behind the scenes communications with her, including 71 phone calls of which 51 were personally with Ms Albrechtsen totalling some 11 hours and 27 minutes in phone calls. It was further revealed that Albrechtsen flew to Brisbane for a private lunch with Sofronoff. It was reported that the contact with Albrechtsen was in stark contrast with that afforded other media outlets. On 5 April 2024, the ACT Integrity Commission published a media release, announcing that it was looking into the conduct of Sofronoff. On 13 May 2024, Integrity Commissioner Michael Adams KC released a statement stating that after a preliminary examination, he suspected on reasonable grounds, that Sofronoff's conduct may constitute corrupt conduct and had launched an investigation.

Personal life
Sofronoff is married. He has three children and one daughter-in-law.