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The Law Association Council

The Council consists of the President and up to five other elected members as well as one Appointed Lawyer Councillor and up to two Appointed Non-Lawyer Councillors.

The current Council members are below.

Tony Herring

President

Tony joined the Wellington office of Gibson Sheat as a partner in March 2021, after 24 years with Mortlock McCormack Law in Christchurch. He practises in the areas of commercial and property law, with an emphasis on Crown property work, commercial leasing, and employment law. Tony was appointed as a Notary Public in 2009.

Samira Taghavi

Vice President

021 0261 0060

[email protected]

Samira is a criminal barrister, representing defendants nationally. Having originally come from Iran to undertake her Master of Laws degree, she has since contributed to our legal system at several levels, including as a political lobbyist, most recently fighting against sexual case legislation damaging to defendant trial rights.

Andrée Atkinson

027 487 0813

[email protected]

Andrée is an FCA (Fellow Chartered Accountant) and has practised since 2000. After working for mid-tier accounting firms, she is now a consultant. Andrée holds several directorships, is actively involved with chartered accountants education, and sits on the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants (NZICA) Disciplinary Tribunal.

Luke Crawford

Luke is the managing partner of Sellar Bone & Partners, having been a partner since 2007. He works primarily in the areas of Commercial, Trusts and Property Law and serves on the Property Disputes Committee and Members Special Fund with The Law Association.

Julie-Anne Kincade KC

(09) 929 4940

[email protected]

Julie-Anne was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1991 and specialises in criminal law. She came to New Zealand in 2006 and initially worked for Meredith Connell, before joining the independent Bar in 2013. Julie-Anne was appointed King’s Counsel in 2019.

Jacque Lethbridge

Jacque is a senior commercial litigator, who has practised in Auckland since 2004. Joining Martelli McKegg in 2019, she heads the litigation team. She has volunteered her time to the profession, including the ADLS Council (2007-2011), the New Zealand Law Society (NZLS) board, chairperson of the Auckland Community Law Centre board, and as a director of the Restructuring Insolvency and Turnaround Association of NZ (RITANZ).

Warren Pyke

Warren Pyke is a highly experienced Auckland barrister with 28 years of legal practice. He is a leading expert in criminal appeals and maintains a busy commercial and civil practice. In addition to his work as a barrister, Warren is a member of The Law Association’s Public & Administrative Law Committee, contributing his expertise to the development of legal policy and practice in these areas.

Mingze Sun

Mingze is a barrister. His professional background includes practice as a commercial litigator, service as a Judges’ clerk, and experience at IPONZ. He has taught at the University of Auckland Law School, where he also serves as a moot court judge. He is Co-Convenor of the TLANZ NextGen Lawyers Committee and contributes to the CPD planning. Mingze also serves on the NZLS Access to Justice Committee. He is the founder of CulturalWise and UniWise, initiatives focused on access to justice and legal education.

Geneva Lowe

Geneva was admitted to the bar in 2010, starting her career at the Wellington branch of the Public Defence Service specialising in criminal law. She joined Whangamata based Tim Hart Law Office in 2017, to take her legal career in a new direction. She practices in the areas of property law, estates, trusts and succession planning. Geneva was named partner in 2020, the firm becoming Hart & Lowe. Geneva is committed to her local community being a member of the Board of Trustees of Moana House, an ISC Master (skipper) and committee member for Coastguard Whangamata.

Michael Wallmannsberger

021 441 318
[email protected]
Michael is an experienced cybersecurity consultant and professional director, having held a variety of governance and security leadership roles in large organisations. He is currently an independent consultant working with boards and management to address cybersecurity risks.