Press Release
23 July 1999

The Attorney-General, Rt Hon Sir Douglas Graham, has announced the appointment of Nelson barrister and solicitor Jane Anne McMeeken as a Family Court Judge.

Judge McMeeken will be sworn in at Nelson District Court on Friday 27 August and will sit in Whangarei from Monday 27 September 1999.

Judge McMeeken graduated from the University of Canterbury with a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1982 and was admitted to the Bar in 1983. Since 1992, when the firm was established, she has been a partner in McFadden McMeeken Phillips.

Family law work has been a part of Judge McMeeken's practice since her admission to the Bar although until 1996 she was also involved in criminal law. She was appointed Counsel for the Child in 1987.

Judge McMeeken has also been a successful sportswoman. She captained many provincial sporting teams and was captain of the New Zealand women's basketball team from 1982 until 1985. She has also held a number of executive roles in sporting organisations at local, provincial and national levels.

Judge McMeeken is aged 40, with three children.

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