July 03, 2023
Māori lawyers make partner ranks
Law firm Meredith Connell has added two Māori partners.
Before returning to Aotearoa in 2021, Matthew Nathan from Ngāti Whātua, Te Uri-o-Hau was a Senior Counsel in Australia, deputy director of public prosecutions for the Northern Territory and is a past president of the Australian Association of Crown Prosecutors.
Chris Merrick from Te Whakapiko o Ngāti Manaia, Ngāti Wai, Ma’ufanga, and Niua has served as counsel assisting the Abuse in Care Royal Commission, inquiry lawyer to the Dilworth Independent Inquiry, and deputy chair of the Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal.
He leads a new team specialising in Te Ao Māori and Pacific legal issues, including giving clients advice on system change, capability building and cultural and legal advisory services.
The third new partner is senior crown prosecutor Jacob Barry, who also specialises in regulatory prosecutions and providing advice to the Commerce Commission.
MC has been the Office of the Crown Solicitor for Auckland for more than 100 years and is one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest and most established law firms with more than 160 lawyers across the full range of practice areas.