1. Bachelor of Arts (Economics) (Qld) 1982
2. Bachelor of Laws (Hons I) (Qld) 1984
3. Bachelor of Civil Laws (Hons I) (Magdalen College, Oxford) 1985
4. Doctor of Laws (honoris causa) (Qld) 2022

John McKenna KC was educated at the University of Queensland (BA, LLB (Hons I)). He was the Queensland Rhodes Scholar for 1984, graduating with a Bachelor of Civil Laws (Hons I) from the University of Oxford. In 1989, he commenced practice at the Queensland Bar and was appointed to the rank of Senior Counsel in 2002.

1. Fellow, Australian Academy of Law (from 2019)
2. Adjunct Professor of Law, University of Queensland (from 2013)
3. President, University of Queensland Law Alumni Association (from 2016)
4. Chairman, Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for the State of Queensland (since 2011)
5. Chair, Consultative Council of Australasian Law Reporting (since 2022)
6. Member, Supreme Court Library Committee (since 2005)
7. Member, Statutory Legal Practice Committee (since 2004)
8. National Secretary, Association of Rhodes Scholars in Australia (since 2012)

1. Bet-the-Company Litigation – Queensland (since 2014)
2. Commercial Law – Queensland (since 2012)
3. Litigation – Queensland (since 2012).
4. Lawyer of the Year – Commercial Law, Brisbane (2013, 2020)

1. Leading Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution Senior Counsel (Australia) (2015, 2020)
2. Leading Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution Senior Counsel (Queensland) (since 2015)
3. Leading Insolvency and Restructuring Senior Counsel (Queensland) (since 2015)
4. Leading Mediators – Queensland (since 2019)

1. Competition Law – DBCT Management Pty Ltd v Treasurer and Minister for Infrastructure and Planning (Qld) [2021] QSC 335
2. Contract – Wagners Cement Pty Ltd & Anor v Boral Resources (Qld) Pty Limited & Anor [2020] QCA 289
3. Contract – Glencore Coal Queensland Pty Limited v Aurizon Network Pty Ltd [2020] QCA 182
4. Industrial – Workpac Pty Ltd v Rossato (2021) 271 CLR 456; [2021] HCA 23
5. Insolvency – Metal Manufacturers Pty Ltd v Morton  [2023] HCA 1
6. Limitation of Actions – TRG v The Board of Trustees of the Brisbane Grammar School  [2020] QCA 190; [2021] HCATrans 92
7. Litigation Funding – Gladstone Ports Corporation Limited v Murphy Operator Pty Ltd (2020) 6 QR 497; [2021] HCATrans 114.
8. Procedure – The Star Entertainment Qld Limited v Yew Choy Wong [2021] QSC 67; [2021] QCA 277
9. Real Property – Orb Holdings Pty Ltd v WCL (Qld) Albert St Pty Ltd [2020] QCA 198; [2021] HCATrans 93
10. Tort – Potter v Gympie Regional Council [2022] QCA 255
11. Unconscionability – Adani Abbot Point Terminal Pty Ltd v Lake Vermont Resources Pty Ltd [2021] QCA 187; [2022] HCATrans 67, 110