New judges appointed

Attorney-General Margaret Wilson today announced the appointment of three new Judges. Paul Geoghegan of Hamilton has been appointed a Family Court Judge and will sit in Rotorua. Bridget Mackintosh and Bruce Davidson, both of Wellington, have been appointed District Court Judges. The pair will sit in Wellington.

Mr Geoghegan, 42, graduated from Canterbury University with LLB (Hons) and was admitted to the bar in 1983. He joined Norris Ward (now Norris Ward McKinnon) in 1986 and is currently head of the litigation team. He has specialised in family, civil and employment litigation.

He is a member of the Waikato/Bay of Plenty District Law Society Disciplinary Tribunal, is a past chairperson of the Waikato Family Courts Association and has been a member of the Counsel for Child panel since 1988. Outside the law Mr Geoghegan has chaired a School Board of Trustees, and serves on an Education Trust.

Mr Davidson gained an LLB from Otago University in 1975 and was admitted to the bar in 1978. He has been with Greig Davidson Gallagher & Co and predecessor firms since 1977. He was made a partner in 1981 and since then his practice has been predominantly criminal defence cases with some civil work.

Mr Davidson is co-author of Butterworth’s District Court Practice (Criminal) and has served on a number of Law Society committees, contributing particularly in the criminal law and courts practice committees. The 49-year-old is of Ngai Tahu descent.

Mrs Mackintosh, 40, gained an LLB from Canterbury University and was admitted to the bar in 1985. She was employed by Crown solicitor firms in Napier, Christchurch and Rotorua before joining Luke Cunningham Clere in Wellington in 1992. She has been a partner in the firm since 1996.

Mrs Mackintosh was appointed a Senior Crown Counsel in 1993 and has had extensive experience in District and High Court trials. She has served on committees including the New Zealand Law Society Women’s Consultative Group, and the Wellington Women Lawyer’s Association. She has three small children.

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