SPEAKERS

Una Jagose has an extensive career as a public sector lawyer having worked in four major government agencies – in legal and policy development roles with the Ministry of Consumer Affairs which was part of the then Ministry of Commerce; Chief Legal Advisor at the Ministry of Fisheries; Crown Counsel and Deputy Solicitor-General at Crown Law and Acting Director of the Government Communications Security Bureau for a year in 2015 prior to her appointment as Solicitor-General (the Crown’s junior law officer) and Chief Executive of the Crown Law Office in February 2016. Appointed Queen’s Counsel in June 2016.

Una’s career as a public sector lawyer has given her a wealth of experience in providing focused and practical advice to assist Ministers and senior decision-makers achieve their strategic goals and also in advising Ministers and public sector organisations on a broad range of public law and constitutional matters. From 2011-2014 Una taught the public law module for Masters in Public Policy Course at Victoria University’s School of Government. She has represented the Crown in courts at all levels, and along with an extensive litigation history, she has a breadth of experience which gives a broad perspective on legal issues and leadership.

Joe Fowler is currently seconded to the Social Investment Agency from the Ministry for Culture and Heritage (Manatū Taonga) where he is Deputy Secretary Delivery & Investment. Joe is supporting the Social Investment Agency’s change work with a focus on developing the agency’s social sector commissioning capabilities.

At the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, Joe is accountable for managing investments within the cultural sector and managing the Ministry’s operational delivery functions, which oversees considerable physical and digital assets. Joe also leads the Ministry’s budget work – supporting medium-term financial planning across multiple Crown entities and agencies.

Joe joined the Ministry for Culture and Heritage in 2021 to lead on the delivery of the Government’s Cultural Sector Regeneration Fund. He previously worked for Oranga Tamariki, where he was General Manager Commissioning for four years. During this time, Joe worked with iwi, Māori, non-governmental organisations, and internal stakeholders to redesign the agency’s procurement, funding and contracting functions. Before this, Joe was a senior executive in central and local government in the United Kingdom. He has spent the last 20 years finding creative and collaborative ways of using public funding to support improved outcomes.

Carra Hamon (Ngāti Toa, Ngaruahine, Ngāti Porou) has extensive experience in public service, covering strategy, investment, monitoring, social services, and governance, with a focus on fairness and community needs. She holds a Master of Public Management and a Bachelor of Arts in History and Education from Victoria University, which helps her tackle complex issues effectively. As Pou Rautaki, she guides Ngāti Toa's strategic direction, ensuring it aligns with the iwi's values to benefit present and future generations.

Kate is the Acting Chief Legal Adviser for the Department of Corrections. She joined Corrections in 2021 after 20 years in private practice as an intellectual property lawyer, specialising in contentious patent matters. In her current role Kate leads a committed and energetic team of lawyers and prosecution experts who advise one of the largest government departments on a wide range of legal and operational issues, from human rights to food safety. She sits on the GLN Governance Board in the Aspiring Leader role. Kate has an LLB/BSc from Victoria University, and is currently undertaking an LLM focussing on topics in penal law.

Sharee Christensen is the General Counsel at NZSIS, leading both the Legal and Compliance teams for New Zealand’s HUMINT intelligence agency. She joined the NZSIS legal team in 2016 as a senior lawyer and was promptly thrown in to provide cover as the agency’s acting Chief Legal Advisor and to lead the implementation of the new Intelligence and Security Act 2017. This was the first major overhaul of the agency’s legislation since the original Act of 1969, so brought in significant changes.

In January 2020, Sharee took up the opportunity as the acting Deputy Director-General of Security and managed the Office of the Director-General for a period of 8 months. However, she was drawn back to the legal team to take on the newly established role of General Counsel, a role in which she has thrived and continues in 2025. Before joining the NZSIS, Sharee had a lengthy career as a Senior Crown Prosecutor, principally focused on the prosecution of serious criminal offending including murder, sexual violence and drug offending.

She moved to Wellington to take up the position with the NZSIS, moving from a career in private practice to that of a government lawyer and continues to enjoy the change of focus and capital life.

Andrew is a highly experienced in-house lawyer and executive. He is currently the Chief Legal Officer at Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora. In this role, Andrew serves as Health NZ’s General Counsel and leads the highly experienced Health NZ Legal Team which provides legal advice and support to the Health NZ Commissioner, executive leadership team and operations. Andrew is also responsible for the Governance, Privacy, Information Management, and Risk Management functions at Health NZ. He joined Health NZ in late August 2023.

Andrew was previously the General Counsel at Fonterra Co-operative Group, New Zealand’s largest company and the world’s largest exporter of dairy products, where he led the highly respected and award-winning legal team. While at Fonterra, he was named New Zealand In-House Lawyer of the Year at the 2018 New Zealand Law Awards.

Prior to joining Fonterra, Andrew was a partner at Foley Hoag LLP, a leading US corporate law firm (with offices in Boston, New York, Washington DC, Denver and Paris) specialising in corporate and commercial advisory work, venture capital, bankruptcy, intellectual property, mergers and acquisitions, securities law, and international transactions.

Andrew has a LL.B (Hons) and B.Com from Canterbury University and a LL.M from Duke University. He served on the National Standards Committee of the New Zealand Law Society from 2018 to 2023 and is currently a director of GNS Science, a Crown Research Institute for Earth and Material sciences.

Erin Judge, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, is the Executive Director for the Justice Sector (comprising the Ministry of Justice, Oranga Tamariki, Ara Poutama, Serious Fraud Office, Crown Law and Police). Erin has previously worked as Chief Legal Officer for Oranga Tamariki, as a Prosecutor and Legal Adviser for the Police Prosecution Service, on projects for Ara Poutama and Oranga Tamariki and at Crown Law where she helped establish the Government Legal Network. Erin has worked overseas at the Victorian Government Solicitors’ Office and in a voluntary role supporting family violence victims in Canada. She has previously served on In-House Lawyers Association NZ (ILANZ), including as President. Erin is a māmā to three and is fiercely committed to ensuring Aotearoa is an equitable country for all who live in it.