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
LawFuel Power List 2025 No. 21 McClintock was appointed Auckland Crown Solicitor in February 2023, succeeding Brian Dickey KC, leading nearly 150 prosecutors in a role Meredith Connell has held for over a century. With 20+ years’ prosecution experience including 100+ trials (murder, sexual offenses, major drug crimes), she’s institutionally powerful. Her demotion from No.
LawFuel Power List 2025 No. 22 Callinan, formerly Simpson Grierson’s veteran litigator, now leads the Commerce Commission during its most transformative period in two decades. Recent enforcement includes criminal prosecution against One NZ (satellite communications claims), Kiwibank (Fair Trading breaches), TSB (unreasonable fees). The Commission’s expanded powers under Commerce Act reforms—merger call-ins, predatory pricing tests,
LawFuel Power List 2025 No.24 Nicholson’s September 2025 KC appointment recognized her role as Chief Parliamentary Counsel and CEO of the Parliamentary Counsel Office—where, as the document notes, “drafting is where power hides.” Every piece of legislation passes through her office. That’s not hyperbole—it’s structural reality. From the Emissions Trading Scheme to health reforms to
