Nelson lawyers named as new District Court judges
Two Nelson lawyers are among the 12 women recently appointed as District Court judges.
Michelle Duggan and Nicola Grimes were announced as two of the 21 new District Court judge appointments by Attorney-General David Parker this week. Both have Family Court jurisdiction, with Duggan to be based in Christchurch and Grimes in Hamilton.
Fourteen new judges have been named, with the remainder to be announced later this year.
Duggan, who has practised in Nelson since 2004, began her legal career in 1991 as a litigation solicitor at Gibson Sheat in Lower Hutt. In 1997, she became a sole practitioner in the criminal and family jurisdictions, an instructor at the Institute of Professional Legal Studies, and a child support review officer.
After moving to Nelson with her family in 2004, Duggan continued to work as a sole practitioner, specialising in family law with an emphasis on child law and relationship property. She has acted for children in the Nelson Family Court, and is on the panel for the Central Authority for Hague Convention cases. In 2011, she was appointed a deputy lawyer member of the Mental Health Review Tribunal.
Duggan has been extensively involved with the New Zealand Law Society, as the Nelson branch president, chair of the family law section, and convenor of the Nelson branch standards committee.
Grimes was admitted to the bar in Wellington in 1990, where she worked both in firms and as a barrister.
From 2002, she practised at Rout Milner Fitchett in Nelson, before joining Knapps as a senior associate in 2014. At both firms, she was responsible for all aspects of family law and regularly received court appointments.
Grimes has been the local family law section representative for a number of years, having previously chaired the Nelson Family Courts Association from 2008. She has been vice-president of the Nelson branch of the New Zealand Law Society since April 2018.
Parker said the new judges included replacements for retiring judges, and 10 new positions.
Among the 21 new appointees, there are 10 Ma¯ori, eight Pa¯keha¯, one Ma¯ori/Chinese, and two Samoans. Once the new judges are sworn in, the number of District Court judges will increase from the current 155 to 172.
Judge Grimes and Judge Duggan will be sworn in on February 10 in Nelson.