Dr Madeline Taylor has been named as a finalist in the Academic/Researcher of the Year category of the Lawyer’s Weekly Women in Law Awards 2023.

The Women in Law Awards is the most highly regarded awards program across Australia and the benchmark for excellence, recognising exceptional women in the Australian legal industry. This prestigious national awards program presents an exceptional opportunity for leading women to showcase their achievements and celebrate the recognition they deserve.

Dr Taylor is a Senior Lecturer at Macquarie Law School, Director of Research Training, Deputy Director of the Centre for Energy and Natural Resources Innovation and Transformation (CENRIT), Co-Director of the Transforming Energy Markets Research Centre, and Honorary Associate at the Sydney Environment Institute. She specialises in issues at the intersection of socio-legal aspects of the energy transition, as well as property and commercial law. Dr Taylor’s current research focusses on establishing regulatory frameworks concerning energy development, spatial planning, and energy justice, particularly concerning large-scale solar energy regulation, agrivoltaics, offshore wind, and hydrogen.

In 2022, Dr Taylor was awarded the Faculty of Arts Early Career Research Prize in recognition of her recent research impact on solar energy development siting on complex land uses. She was also awarded the 2022 Faculty of Arts Learning and Teaching Early Career Award for her work embedding climate change and other critical perspectives of commercial law in her teaching. Dr Taylor has published over 33 articles, books, book chapters and research reports on the socio-legal aspects of the energy transition and has advised government, industry and NGOs on issues relating to the energy transition, energy regulation and policy.

“I feel deeply honoured and privileged to be listed as a finalist for the Women in Law Academic/Researcher of the Year award,” said Dr Taylor. “I am immensely grateful for the ongoing support from my colleagues and students fostering my research into the Australian energy transition and educational initiatives in commercial law. This transformative award recognises excellence in leadership, legal research, and enhancing student learning.”

Winners of the Women in Law Awards 2023 will be announced on Thursday 23 November 2023 at Crown Melbourne.