February 26, 2016
Maori lawyer Kathy Ertel a staunch advocate
Maori lawyers and claimants from around the country are in mourning for Kathy Ertel, who worked on some of the most significant treaty claims and cases over the past three decades.
Ms Ertel died in Wellington on Wednesday.
She started her career working with senior lawyers like David Baragwanath and Martin Dobson on the state owned enterprises, fisheries and broadcasting claims.
Fellow lawyer and Maori Women's Welfare League president Prue Kapua says she was a huge personality and a fierce advocate for the rights of Maori, Pacific and people with disabilities.
As well as land claims, she was also playing a major role in the contemporary claims over water, the Trans Pacific Partnership and the reform of Te Ture Whenua Maori.
"Because she was such a staunch advocate her commitment to her clients, her relationships with her clients are beyond being the lawyer or the advocate. She loved the history and she loved being part of telling that history of people who were learning sometimes about themselves but stories that were going to be carried througg into the future so it's a huge loss, Ms Kapua says.
There will be a memorial service for Kathy Ertel at old St Paul's Cathedral in Wellington at 3pm on Monday afternoon.
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