Rising fast up the Power List is former Solicitor General Michael Heron QC whose continued high profile work has made him one of the country’s most powerful lawyers.
Recently appointed to inquire into the death of Olympian Olivia Podmore by Cycling NZ and High Performance Sport NZ and acting for boxer Joseph Parker named in the trial of three charged in a meth trafficking rin 2019, he has a wide client base and remains a go-to lawyer for many clients across sports and other areas.
Prosecuting for the SFO and handling often complex and politically sensitive enquiries, he has also been involved in working with Police on their handling of the Mosque shootings and acting for the State Services Commission on the budget leak issues.
Sports law issues have also played a large part in his work. Chairman of Immediation New Zealand, which has been appointed to run the mediation service on behalf of Sport NZ as a fully independent and free mechanism designed for the sports sector.
Michael Heron believes a new independent complaints and mediation service will allow people involved in sport and recreation to get disputes resolved in a timely manner.
He is judicial officer for New Zealand Rugby and SANZAAR, a National Commissioner for New Zealand Cricket and a member of the International Cricket Council Code of Conduct Commission and Disputes Resolution Committee.
Former Solicitor General Michael Heron is increasingly becoming the go-to Silk for enquiries and regulatory work, as well as showing an entrepreneurial streak with the development of his online mediation tool CODR.
