Hon Judith Collins KC
Attorney-General

Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Waikato barrister James Alexander MacGillivray as a High Court Judge.

Justice MacGillivray graduated from the University of Auckland in 1995 with a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Arts (History).

He was a litigation solicitor, then an associate, with Bell Gully in Auckland until 2000. He then moved to London and worked as a litigation senior associate with law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer until 2003.

Justice MacGillivray joined Tompkins Wake as a litigation senior associate in 2004, becoming a partner specialising in civil and commercial litigation in 2006.

In 2020, he obtained a Master of Laws (First Class Honours) from the University of Auckland and in 2024 he was awarded the University of Waikato Medal in recognition of his contribution to the University and the broader Waikato community.

Justice MacGillivray joined Mills Lane Chambers in Auckland in January 2025, practising as a barrister in the areas of contract and commercial, corporate and insolvency, aviation liability, insurance, professional negligence and local government disputes.

His appointment as a High Court Judge will take effect on 1August 2025, and he will sit in Auckland.

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