Philip Lewis Griffiths

Who was Philip Lewis Griffiths?

Philip Lewis Griffiths KC was an Australian jurist.

Educated at Caulfield Grammar School, he studied for a Master of Arts degree at the Trinity College of the University of Melbourne. He then wrote for The Mercury in both Hobart and Launceston, before studying law at the University of Tasmania. While working as a lawyer, he also lectured at the University of Tasmania from 1913 to 1930, focusing on torts and criminal law.

In 1930 Griffiths was appointed as the Solicitor-General of Tasmania, and in August 1933 he was made a King's Counsel. From August 1938 to March 1939 Griffiths was acting Chief Judge of the Mandated Territory of New Guinea; he then became the Second Judge of New Guinea, serving in the acting Chief Judge position again during 1940.