The Borrin Foundation Justice Fellowship is intended to give outstanding legal professionals with at least 10 years’ experience in the law the opportunity to design their own inquiry or project plan to build on their expertise and allow them to pursue new directions that they would not otherwise be able to pursue in the course of their day-to-day work.
This year’s recipient is Professor Alexander Gillespie. Alexander has been selected to receive $116,072 to investigate what best practice firearms legislation should look like, to determine what revisions should, and should not, be made to the legislation in order to better protect New Zealanders from firearm-related violence. Alexander obtained his LLB and LLM degrees with Honours from The University of Auckland. He did his PhD at Nottingham and post-doctoral studies at Columbia University in New York City. Having published 19 books, Alexander’s areas of scholarship currently relate to the laws of war and the regulation of firearms.
Women Leaders in Law Fellowship
The Borrin Foundation Women Leaders in Law Fellowship provides up to $50,000 in funding to women aspiring to become leaders in Aotearoa New Zealand’s legal community. This year, the foundation has chosen to support two recipients:
Dr Anna Marie Brennan is a senior lecturer in Te Piringa Faculty of Law at the University of Waikato where she served as Acting Dean in 2023. Currently, she serves as the New Zealand Chair of the AI and Space Law Society and in 2019, she was awarded the Thomson Reuters Prize for Research Excellence. She has been selected to receive $19,500 to engage in a critical examination of New Zealand Outer Space Law to discuss proposals for reform.
Holly Hedley has been selected to receive $30,000 to research, write, and present on a practical introduction to trauma-informed legal practice for New Zealand. Holly has worked as a health and employment law specialist for more than a decade, and she is passionate about providing legal services in a pragmatic and compassionate way. Her expertise sits at the intersection of health and employment law, and includes human rights and privacy issues, as well supporting clients who are involved in adverse and often traumatic events.
Travel and Learning Awards
Travel and Learning Awards provide members of New Zealand’s legal community with the opportunity to learn from others, build networks, and explore innovative ideas. 12 awards of up to $10,000 each are available annually.
In the most recent funding round, six individuals were selected to receive this award:
Shaymaa Arif – $10,000 To further her experience and expertise in international human rights and criminal law at an international tribunal in Europe.
Dr Marie Doole – $8,580 To travel within New Zealand and to Australia to undertake research on the management of the risk of regulatory capture in environmental regulatory systems.
Farhana Khan – $10,000 To travel to Italy to attend two short summer courses to learn about how international human rights obligations can be upheld while balanced with other considerations in migration policy.
Daniel Perkins – $10,000 To travel to Canada for a three week study trip to undertake comparative research of practice and procedure for Charter of Rights and Freedoms litigation and share insights for New Zealand Declaration of Inconsistency litigation.
Emma Powell – $9,288 To develop her understanding of criminal law at an international tribunal in Europe.
Amanda Turnbull – $9,932 To travel to Austria, Germany, and Switzerland to explore Artificial Intelligence (AI) governance and safeguarding a trajectory tailored for Aotearoa New Zealand’s dynamic society.
Dr Anna Marie Brennan is a senior lecturer in Te Piringa Faculty of Law at the University of Waikato where she served as Acting Dean in 2023. Currently, she serves as the New Zealand Chair of the AI and Space Law Society and in 2019, she was awarded the Thomson Reuters Prize for Research Excellence. She has been selected to receive $19,500 to engage in a critical examination of New Zealand Outer Space Law to discuss proposals for reform.
Holly Hedley has been selected to receive $30,000 to research, write, and present on a practical introduction to trauma-informed legal practice for New Zealand. Holly has worked as a health and employment law specialist for more than a decade, and she is passionate about providing legal services in a pragmatic and compassionate way. Her expertise sits at the intersection of health and employment law, and includes human rights and privacy issues, as well supporting clients who are involved in adverse and often traumatic events.
Travel and Learning AwardsTravel and Learning Awards provide members of New Zealand’s legal community with the opportunity to learn from others, build networks, and explore innovative ideas. 12 awards of up to $10,000 each are available annually.
In the most recent funding round, six individuals were selected to receive this award:
Shaymaa Arif – $10,000 To further her experience and expertise in international human rights and criminal law at an international tribunal in Europe.
Dr Marie Doole – $8,580 To travel within New Zealand and to Australia to undertake research on the management of the risk of regulatory capture in environmental regulatory systems.
Farhana Khan – $10,000 To travel to Italy to attend two short summer courses to learn about how international human rights obligations can be upheld while balanced with other considerations in migration policy.
Daniel Perkins – $10,000 To travel to Canada for a three week study trip to undertake comparative research of practice and procedure for Charter of Rights and Freedoms litigation and share insights for New Zealand Declaration of Inconsistency litigation.
Emma Powell – $9,288 To develop her understanding of criminal law at an international tribunal in Europe.
Amanda Turnbull – $9,932 To travel to Austria, Germany, and Switzerland to explore Artificial Intelligence (AI) governance and safeguarding a trajectory tailored for Aotearoa New Zealand’s dynamic society.
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