George Whitecross Paton was born in Melbourne, son of a Presbyterian minister. He studied at Scotch College and the University of Melbourne before going to Oxford on a Rhodes scholarship. He was working as an assistant lecturer in law at the London School of Economics when he applied for the chair of jurisprudence at the University of Melbourne, and took up this position in 1931.
As dean during Kenneth Bailey's absence overseas in 1937, and then from 1943 to 1951, Paton played a large part in resolving a long-running struggle between the University and the Law Institute of Victoria over the content of the law course. Paton accommodated the Institute's demands for more practical training, while maintaining the broad academic base of the course. He also ensured the smooth running of the Law School when student numbers dropped sharply during World War II and then jumped when the war was over.
Despite these demands, his major published work, A Text-Book of Jurisprudence, was completed in 1946. It won the prestigious Swiney prize, awarded in Britain every five years for the best published work on jurisprudence. In Australia and elsewhere, it was (in one reviewer's words) 'to many students the text-book of jurisprudence'.
In 1951, Paton accepted an invitation to become the University's vice-chancellor, resigning as dean and as professor of jurisprudence. He presided over the University's rapid expansion in the 1950s, with the help of increasing funding from the federal government. By the early 1960s, however, the University's administrative and financial systems were failing to cope with the greater demands being placed on them. Paton was knighted, and as Sir George retired as vice-chancellor in 1968.
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