The New Zealand Power Lawyers among the most influential in Law
International Women’s Day made us review the top 10 women in New Zealand law from the 2022 The LawFuel Power List.
With over 8300 female lawyers in New Zealand, comprising almost 54 percent of all practising lawyers, the role of women continues to grow, albeit more gradually than many would like.
However the ranks of the most influential lawyers continues to show a growing number of women, whether they made the Power List or simply continue to display their leadership and legal abilities across the legal, business and government sectors.
The most influential, who was not on our list only because we exclude Judges, is Chief Justice Dame Helen Winkelmann a legal leader who is putting her impact upon the law in every aspect of the profession from the role of women and the disadvantaged to the controversial inclusion of tikanga in the law following the controversial Christchurch creche case, which has received international interest and considerable controversy domestically.
10 most powerful and influential women in New Zealand law include those who deserve celebration from the Power List include –
As Solicitor General, is not only head of Crown Law’s 180 staff but also the ‘‘professional head’’ of more than 800 lawyers employed by the government’s various departments, ministries and agencies she has a power role both from a legislative and a legal leadership perspective a role she told barristers at Bankside Chambers that was both ‘a privilege and a burden’.
A more dangerous world with war in the Ukraine, violent extremism on the rise, and what NZSIS chief Rebecca Kitteridge says is the now commonplace violent and misogynistic online rhetoric have all served to provide a heightened sense of importance on her role as top spy.
A LawFuel Lawyer of the Year, Cassie Nicholson works in the unglamorous-sounding Parliamentary Counsel Office with a team of 35 government lawyers, she was at the coal face dealing with pandemic legislation involving around 110 pieces of legislation and other legal instruments.
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Coming to the IRD with top credentials as a leading tax lawyer the former tax partner and co-leader of the firm’s international tax team at PriceWaterhouseCoopers took up her position as chief tax counsel at the IRD in 2021.
Handling difficult and often politically-challenging inquiries and mediations, Maria Dew is a leading light at the Bar, as well as NZ Bar Association President.
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Despite leaving her role as Governor General in 2021, Dame Patsy Reddy remains a powerful influence within the New Zealand sports, business and arts scene, even whilst maintaining a necessarily reduced public profile.
Another LawFuel Lawyer of the Year, Tiana Epati became one of the youngest and first Pacifica President of the Law Society, adding a heightened sense of inclusion to the Society and continuing to act as an influential voice in the profession.
The profile lawyer Mai Chen this year ‘sacked herself’ from her eponymous law firm to set up public law chambers and work on “complex public law problems, which remains my first and greatest love in the law.” Read More
A senior government adviser at the Policy Advisory Group (PAG) at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC). She provides advice to the Prime Minister on a range of portfolios including Cyber Security, Constitutional Issues, and Justice.
