Anthea is the Deputy Solicitor-General for the Attorney-General’s Group. Anthea rejoined Crown Law in mid-2024, after spending the last decade as a Chief Legal Advisor and senior lawyer within Government, mostly recently as the Treasury Solicitor.

From 2001-2014 Anthea was in public law groups at Crown Law where she specialised in civil litigation including on regulatory appeals, tort claims, government contracting cases and as a Counsel for the Crown on the Royal Commission into the Pike River Mine Tragedy. She has also served as Private Secretary to the Attorney-General. Between 2012-2018 Anthea sat on the Legislation Advisory Committee/Legislation Design Advisory Committee.

Anthea has a LLB/BA (Politics) from Victoria University, LLM (Health Law and Policy) from the University of Toronto (with the support of a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Fellowship) and a Diploma in Te Reo Māori (Heke Reo Māori) from Te Wānanga o Raukawa. Anthea is published internationally and nationally on public law topics, including on ethics for Crown lawyers.

Jessica is a partner at Luke Cunningham Clere. She has extensive experience representing and advising public sector clients, including conducting numerous regulatory prosecutions for a variety of government departments and Crown entities (as well as Crown prosecutions) over the last 16 years.

Through her work, Jessica has briefed, led and/or cross-examined experts in a variety of subjects, including forensic accounting, psychology and psychiatry, forensic science, health and safety, digital forensics, electricity, social/cultural practices and human factors, as well as dealing with pre-trial arguments around the admissibility of such evidence.

Alongside Dennis Dow, she will draw on her experience to provide a refresher on the key areas of law relating to expert witnesses as well as practical tips for managing experts effectively prior to and inside the courtroom.

Dennis is an expert in criminal and regulatory prosecution and enforcement.

Dennis is an experienced litigator, regularly conducting complex jury trials, Judge alone trials and disciplinary hearings on behalf of the Crown, government departments and statutory agencies and professional disciplinary boards. In addition to litigation, Dennis also provides legal advice and support to a wide range of public sector agencies.

Through his litigation, Dennis has had a range of experiences dealing with expert witnesses, including briefing, leading and cross-examining experts in subjects such as psychology and psychiatry, forensics, electricity, pharmacology, biology, engineering, health and safety and cultural practices. Dennis will draw on that experience to provide a refresher on the key areas of law relating to expert witnesses as well as practical tips for managing experts effectively prior to and inside the courtroom.

Chief Legal Adviser, Department of Corrections

Horiana founded Whāia Legal in 2018. Horiana has an LL.M from Harvard Law School and previously worked at Russel McVeagh and Kāhui Legal. Horiana’s practice focuses on public law and she appears at all levels of the New Zealand Courts.

Brigadier Kennedy-Good is the Director of the NZDF’s Legal Services and the Director of Military Prosecutions. He has served in the Army since 2002 and has been a lawyer with the NZDF’s legal team since 2008. He has extensive operational legal experience including as the Chief Legal Adviser at Headquarters Joint Forces New Zealand as well as through operational deployments to Afghanistan, Papua New Guinea, and the Republic of Korea.

In his role as the Director of the NZDF’s Legal Services, Brigadier Kennedy-Good is responsible for the provision of legal support across the NZDF and the delivery of legal advice across four functional legal areas: operations, personnel, governance & delivery, and resources. As the Director of Military Prosecutions, he also oversees the prosecutorial function of the military justice system.

Manager, Public Law, Te Tai Ōhanga The Treasury

Cassie Nicholson KC is the Chief Parliamentary Counsel and Chief Executive of the Parliamentary Counsel Office, New Zealand’s law drafting and publication office and the Government’s legislative advisor. Appointed to the role in 2021, she brings more than 25 years’ experience at the PCO, including five years as Deputy Chief Parliamentary Counsel (Drafting), where she guided the drafting group through a number of critical legislative emergencies.

Known for her commitment to high-quality, easy to access legislation, Cassie has championed many legislative stewardship initiatives, including strengthening the Legislation Design and Advisory Committee, standardising legislative approaches across the statute book, and the PCO’s multi-year initiative to improve access to New Zealand’s secondary legislation.

Cassie holds a BA/LLB (Hons) from Victoria University of Wellington and an LLM from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Annabel is the Director Corporate Assurance and Chief Legal Advisor at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Over the past 10 years she has supported DPMC, the National Emergency Management Agency and other lead agencies with the response to and recovery from various emergency events and crises – including Hurunui-Kaikoura earthquakes, Nelson-Tasman fires, COVID-19 and Cyclone Gabrielle.

Rebecca (Ngāti Porou) was appointed inaugural CE of the Sport Integrity Commission Te Kahu Raunui in July 2024, after leading its establishment as Integrity Transition Programme director for two years.

The Commission is an independent Crown entity, set up to enhance integrity within sport and physical recreation to protect and promote the safety and well-being of participants and the fairness of competition, as well as give effect to the World Anti-Doping Code in New Zealand.

Rebecca has held leadership roles with NZ Police, the Serious Fraud Office, Corrections and Sport NZ. As an athlete, Rebecca represented New Zealand as a Football Fern and as a White Fern.

Andrew Royle is Deputy Chief Executive, Policy at the Ministry for Regulation, where he led the passage of the Regulatory Standards Act 2025 and now oversees its implementation and stewardship. A public law lawyer by background, Andrew has held Crown Counsel and Chief Legal Advisor roles, with wide experience in administrative law, regulatory decision making, and litigation. His career spans local and central government, Crown Law, and private practice, advising Ministers, select committees, and senior executives on complex statutory design, institutional reform, and machinery of government issues. Andrew brings a strong legal and systems perspective to regulatory reform, with a particular focus on embedding high performance and high quality regulation across the public sector.

Jeremy Shoebridge is a Principal Legal Advisor at the Ministry for Regulation, specialising in complex regulatory frameworks and with a strong focus on multi‑agency work.

He has over 15 years’ experience across government and private practice, and led the legal advice on the Regulatory Standards Act from 2024. Jeremy served as Acting Head of Legal for 12 months, establishing the Ministry’s legal function while steering the cross‑agency legal and legislative advice through a highly contested parliamentary process.

A regular presenter to legal audiences across the Government Legal Network, his experience spans legislation-making, international negotiations, environmental and market regulation, primary industries, Treaty matters, and climate change.

Damien is a special counsel and specialises in technology, media and telecommunications and general commercial law. Damien has particular expertise in advising public sector clients on their most significant projects, including all elements of the procurement process, contract drafting and negotiation, and multi-agency agreements.

Paranihia is a Special Counsel at Kāhui Legal. Paranihia assists whānau, hapū, iwi and organisations across Aotearoa on a range of public law, taiao and governance issues. She has a particular interest in contemporary Treaty of Waitangi issues and Treaty settlement negotiations and implementation, together with the promotion of te reo Māori.

He Rōia Motuhake a Paranihia ki te tari o Kāhui Legal. Ka mahi tahi a Paranihia ki ngā whānau, ki ngā hapū, ki ngā iwi me ngā rōpū maha puta noa i Aotearoa mō ngā kaupapa ture e hāngai ana ki ngā mahi kāwanatanga, ki te taiao me ngā kaupapa mana whakahaere. E aro nui ana ia ki ngā kaupapa e hāngai ana ki te Tiriti o Waitangi, ki te whiriwhiri me te whakatinana i ngā whakaaetanga whakatau i raro i te Tiriti, ā, ki te hāpai hoki i te reo Māori.

Natasha is a partner in Buddle Findlay's public law team. She has extensive experience in advising public sector bodies on funding arrangements, commissioning and procurement,. Her clients include departments and ministries, Crown entities, local government and SOEs.

Natasha has played a leading role in advising the public sector on the commissioning of critical services including health and disability services, education services, and services for vulnerable children.