Chief Judge Christina Inglis was sworn in as Kaiwhakawā o Te Kōti Take Mahi o Aotearoa ǀ the Employment Court of New Zealand, in 2011 and appointed as Kaiwhakawā Matua ǀ Chief Judge six years later. 

She holds an LLM (Hons) from Victoria University and an MA (Hons) from Canterbury University. She was a Crown Counsel for many years, with a primary focus on civil litigation, public law and employment law, and led the Human Rights Team at Crown Law prior to her appointment to the bench. 

Chief Judge Inglis was formerly on the Advisory Board of the New Zealand Centre for Human Rights Law, Policy and Practice; is a member of the Access to Justice Advisory Group and was Chair of Te Awa Tuia Tangata for three years. 

In 2023 she was awarded an honorary doctorate by Te Herenga Waka ǀ Victoria University in recognition of her contribution to the law, and in September 2025 made an Adjunct Professor of Law at Te Piringa | Waikato University. 

Judge Merepaia King was appointed as Kaiwhakawā Te Kōti Take Mahi o Aotearoa ǀ Judge of the Employment Court of New Zealand, in September 2023.

She has an LLB(Hons) and a BSocSc (in Psychology and Education) from Te Piringa - University of Waikato and was admitted in 2005.

She commenced practice with Tompkins Wake in Hamilton operating in the areas of employment law, family law and general civil litigation.  In 2010 she joined Kiely, Thompson Caisley in Auckland and focused her practice exclusively in the areas of employment and health safety law.  In 2015 she joined Buddle Findlay’s employment law team and went on to join the partnership in 2021. 

Philip has extensive litigation experience. He has been at the independent bar since 2006, and specialises in employment law and commercial litigation, including class actions.  He took silk in 2013.

Simon has worked as a litigation lawyer since 1990. He specialises in employment and family law, enjoying the challenge of both areas as they are about people and solving relationship problems.

In his employment practice, with strong litigation skills Simon works in a full range of disputes but also assists parties by resolving matters and negotiating settlements if possible. He acts for workers, employers and unions.

He was appointed King’s Counsel in November 2022.

Gillian heads MinterEllisonRuddWatts Auckland litigation and employment team.  A core aspect of Gillian's practice is the interaction between legal frameworks and the workplace itself. Gillian is passionate about the future of work and the challenges organisations face both locally and globally. She has deep experience with unionised workforces, advising clients and engaging with government on the role of unions in the workplace as concepts of the traditional workplace evolve. 

Gillian is a thought leader on the future of work, flexible working practices, complex pieces of legislation such as the Holidays Act and AI in the workplace. She maintains her interest in future of work and different work models through her roles as a 4 Day Week Global Ambassador and a Trustee of The Warehouse Group's New Zealand Future Work Skills Fund (a trust set up by to expand the skill sets of workers into different areas including the digital economy).

Kylie Dunn has over 20 years of experience advising on all aspects of employment law.  She has appeared in the Employment Relations Authority, Employment Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court.  Kylie was a partner at Russell McVeagh for 8 years, before setting up Smith Dunn in May 2024 with Bridget Smith.  Smith Dunn is a boutique employment law firm specialising in employment law and workplace investigations. 

Catherine Stewart has over 30 years’ experience as a litigation and employment lawyer. She joined the independent bar as a barrister sole in 2012, having held senior roles in employment law prior to then including at partnership level. 

Catherine has successfully argued many high profiles cases in the Employment Relations Authority, Employment Court and Court of Appeal, including acting for Dr Siouxsie Wiles in the landmark Employment Court case against the University of Auckland last year, as an intervener for TLANZ in the MW v Spiga case, acting for the employee in the well-known redundancy case of Stormont v Peddle Thorp, and acting for Mr Gilbert in the landmark case on stress in the workplace Gilbert v Department of Corrections. 

Catherine holds a Bachelor of Laws with Honours and a Bachelor of Arts in languages. She is a regular presenter at conferences on topical employment law issues. She was voted by her clients to be Employment Lawyer of the Year at the 2013 NZ Law Awards, and was also voted runner up to Barrister of the Year. She is the Convenor of the Law Association’s Employment Law Committee and a member of the Employment and Privacy Committee for the NZ Bar Association.