Practice
I am a criminal defence and human rights barrister practising in Christchurch. I represent people facing serious criminal charges at trial and on appeal, including charges of murder, sexual offending, drug offending, and serious violence. I accept both private instructions and legal aid. I am able to appear in cases around New Zealand
I also practise in refugee and immigration law, and have particular experience in cases involving human trafficking and forced labour.
Research
My academic research is grounded in transnational criminal law, with a particular focus on human trafficking and forced labour at sea. More recently I have turned to questions of process and legal architecture — fair trial rights, procedural design, and the application of technology to how law operates in practice.
A full list of publications is available on my Google Scholar profile.
Legal research tools
As part of that programme, I build open-source software tools which are aimed at the criminal justice system. Each tool is accompanied by a short working paper explaining the problem it addresses and the design choices involved.
Tools and papers are published on GitHub.
NZBORA s30 Analysis Tool
An analytical tool for working with section 30 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 — the provision governing the admissibility of improperly obtained evidence in criminal proceedings.
GitHubMemberships & governance
- New Zealand Bar Association
- International Bar Association
- New Zealand Law Society
- Te Matakahi — Defence Lawyers Association of New Zealand
- Centre for Research on Modern Slavery (CReMS), University of Auckland
- Board member, Community Law Centres o Aotearoa
- Member, New Zealand Law Society Human Rights and Privacy Law Reform Committee