Monday, 10 September 2001

Attorney-General Margaret Wilson has announced the appointment of Denise Clark of Rotorua and Michael Crosbie of Wellington, as District Court Judges and Joanna Maze of Nelson as an Acting District Court Judge. Judge Maze will assist during the absence of another judge because of ill health.

Judge Clark and Judge Maze will each sit in Hamilton. Judge Crosbie will sit in Wanganui.

Judge Clark’s tribal affiliation is to Ngapuhi. She was admitted to the bar in 1985 and since 1997 has been a Partner in Chadwick Bidois in Rotorua. She was a staff solicitor in the firm for 8 years before that. Her principal areas of practice for the last 15 years have been criminal and youth work. She has been an active supporter of Tauteihiihi Marae of which she is trustee, and has been involved with a broad range of organisations including sports clubs and the IHC. Judge Clark is 41.

Judge Crosbie was born and educated in Palmerston North and admitted to the bar in 1984, graduating LLM from the University of Otago. He is currently a litigation partner in Minter Ellison Rudd Watts in Wellington, having previously spent 5 years as a Partner in the Tauranga firm of Sharp Tudhope. In Tauranga his practice centred on public law, civil, family and tribunal work. For the last 18 months he has been engaged on commercial litigation. He is a member of the New Zealand Law Society Litigation Skills Faculty, the Civil Litigation and Tribunals Committee and the Minister for Courts' Civil Court Fees working party. He has a strong Alternative Dispute Resolution practice; he was elected chair of LEADR (NZ) in 2000 and is a member of the board of LEADR (Australia). Judge Crosbie is 39.

Judge Maze was admitted to the bar in 1977 and has practised throughout her legal career in Nelson. A partner in the firm Maze and Associates which she and her husband established in 1995, she has also since then been a member of the Crown Panel for Nelson. Her practice has been a roughly equal mix of criminal, family and civil matters although over the last 12 months she has tended to take on a larger amount of family work. For many years she has been a faculty member of the NZLS Litigation Skills Course. Judge Maze is a former President of the Nelson District Law Society. Judge Maze is 47.

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