LawFuel Power List 2025 No. 8 LawFuel’s 2024 Lawyer of the Year, Ron Mansfield’s defence of eye surgeon Philip Polkinghorne in the 2024 murder trial was New Zealand’s highest-profile criminal case in a generation—eight weeks of wall-to-wall media coverage, a jury note revealing “most people don’t think there’s enough evidence to support suicide” but acquitting […]
LawFuel Power List 2025 No. 9 Redington oversees one of New Zealand’s largest legal teams (70+ lawyers) and the IRD’s digital transformation—one of the Southern Hemisphere’s biggest government IT projects. That’s not glamorous work, but it’s power: tax revenue ($116 billion annually) funds everything from hospitals to highways, and Redington’s team interprets the Inland Revenue
LawFuel Power Lists 2025 No. 13 Allen’s appointment as Chief Ombudsman (January 2025, taking office March 31) fills Peter Boshier’s activist shoes. His CV is eclectic: commercial litigation at Rudd Watts & Stone, CEO of New Zealand Post, Secretary of Foreign Affairs (MFAT), Chair of NZ Racing Board. Few lawyers have run a $1 billion
LawFuel Power List 2025 No. 6 Maria Dew completed her two-year term as NZ Bar Association president in 2024, but her influence only sharpened. She’s the profession’s trusted investigator-in-chief – the Royal Australasian College of Physicians review (2025, critical of examination processes), the Hamilton Crown Solicitor workplace conduct probe, historic Labour Party abuse allegations, the
LawFuel Power List 2025 No. 14 Salmon’s 2025 profile case was the Talleys v. TVNZ defamation battle (September 2025), resulting in a win with a dismissal of the claim. His practice is astonishingly diverse: representing the Independent Māori Statutory Board against Auckland Council (judicial review over Watercare chairmanship), Northland kaumatua Mike Smith in climate change
LawFuel Power List 2025 No. 15 The former Attorney-General (2008-2016) remains New Zealand’s pre-eminent Treaty of Waitangi and constitutional lawyer. His 2025 work included leading Hawke’s Bay councils’ negotiations with government over Cyclone Gabrielle recovery and representing former Labour ministers called before the Covid Royal Commission (they refused attendance; Finlayson provided cover). His memoir, Yes,
LawFuel Power List 2025 No. 16 Hunter is Shortland Chambers’ go-to commercial silk—ANZ, BNZ, Commerce Commission, Kiwi Property, Metlifecare, Precinct, Rabobank, Vector, Vero, Westpac. His practice spans banking, company law, contract disputes, negligence claims, regulatory matters. One of few silks ranked Band 1 by both Chambers & Partners and The Legal 500, he’s admitted to
LawFuel Power List 2025 Walker holds the South Auckland warrant alongside Alysha McClintock’s Auckland brief, managing major prosecutions in one of New Zealand’s busiest jurisdictions. South Auckland’s crime rates—particularly serious violence and gang-related offenses—mean Walker’s team handles high-volume, high-stakes cases with limited resources. She’s been leading prosecutions at Meredith Connell for years, earning respect for
LawFuel Power List 2025 No. 19 Gatland joined the Financial Markets Authority in December 2017 from the Serious Fraud Office and Meredith Connell. Her enforcement portfolio has sharpened: civil claims against Tower Insurance, litigation involving Rockfort Markets, high-profile Du Val property group prosecution. With CCCFA enforcement transferring to the FMA, her regulatory remit expands. The
LawFuel Power List 2025 No. 20 Reed continues tackling high-profile cases at the intersection of criminal and civil law. Her October 2024 Whakaari Management High Court appeal challenging the company’s conviction over the 2019 volcanic eruption killing 22 people argued the ruling had “concerning implications” for landlords permitting adventure activities. This year she excoriated the
