New Zealand Law Society - Speakers
AML workshop: Department of Internal Affairs & Financial Intelligence Unit
Dave joined Police 21 years ago. After five years in uniform he joined the CIB, eventually ending up investigating organised crime. He then promoted to the Financial Intelligence Unit after realising the value of financial intelligence to investigations. He is currently the Operations Manager and responsible for three teams: Data Insights, Targeting and Response & Operations. Dave has a passion for identifying and removing barriers to facilitate more widespread use of FIU information, and to ensure all New Zealand agencies make the most of this resource. Dave is also a member of the Specialist Search Group, and of the National Disaster Victim Identification team. He has recently completed a post-grad certificate in Crime Science.
Risk and trauma (vicarious and real): The conversations we need to have
Brintyn (Tūhoe) is a specialist family law barrister based in Warkworth and Auckland. He deals predominantly with complex care of children, family violence, relocation, and care and protection matters. He also undertakes relationship property work. Brintyn accepts Family Court appointments to act as Lawyer for Child, is a family legal aid provider and is also a contract Instructor at the Institute of Professional Legal Studies (IPLS). Brintyn is passionate about and actively advocates for the safety and well-being of practitioners. He also has an interest in matters of practice and procedure, alternative dispute resolution (including mediation and collaborative law), and elder law.
Risk, burnout and trauma (vicarious and real): The conversations we need to have
Dr Phil Watts, is a well-known and highly regarded adjunct associate professor in clinical psychology and an endorsed forensic psychologist from Western Australia. With 35 years’ experience, the last 31 in private practice he is highly experienced in assessment and treatment.
Dr Phil is the owner and director of Mindstate Psychology in Perth which specialises in forensic assessment, clinical treatment, and neurofeedback treatment. He has extensive experience in treating and managing trauma and a strong advocate for EMDR trauma therapy.
With over 2500 appointments as “Single Expert” in the Family Court in Australia and 1000’s of reports for other courts, he is highly experienced within the legal arena.
Dr Phil has varied interest and is author of 8 books including “Surviving the Witness Box” (2007); “Shared Care or Divide Lives (2nd Ed)” (2024); and “How to find love and not a psycho” (2020).
High-Tech Stalking: Navigating legal challenges in the digital age
With an extensive law enforcement career focusing on investigating crimes against persons, specialising in sex crimes, child abuse, domestic violence, human trafficking, and crimes against the elderly, Steven Bradley was recruited by the FBI to investigate technology and cyber related crimes.
After graduating the FBI Academy with honours, he began combating many types of technology related crimes including cyber-terrorism, network intrusions, cyberstalking, financial exploitation, and apprehending child predators. Later in his career, Steven began working with National and State Coalitions, as well as local domestic violence/sexual assault centres on bridging the gaps between law enforcement and community partners to better support survivors and victims. Steven is internationally recognized as an expert on law enforcement’s response to intimate partner violence, technology forensics, and stalking/cyberstalking.
Susan is a Partner at Buddle Findlay and leads the Christchurch employment and health and safety team. She has over 20 years' experience advising on industrial relations issues and appears for clients in the Employment Relations Authority, Employment Court, High Court, appellate courts and in the Coroners Court. Susan is ranked as a Notable Practitioner for dispute resolution by Asia Law and described as a key name among Christchurch employment lawyers who "leaves nothing to chance".
Steven Colligan is a seasoned leadership coach and facilitator committed to guiding individuals and teams towards their highest potential. Armed with degrees in Health Science and Psychology, he works with clients to harness their innate strengths to foster resilience and wellbeing in their personal and professional lives. Steven has applied his expertise in law, the health sector and education for over 20 years, collaborating with District Health Boards, Law, Government and Universities across New Zealand, Australia and the UK.
Cooper v Pinney: Clayton revisited
Rhonda is a barrister. She practices in the areas of equity, trusts, estates, relationship property, and the Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act 1988. She is a member of Clarendon Chambers and Kate Sheppard Chambers and lives in Christchurch.
The interface between private property rights and interests and resource management decision making
Rosie is a Senior Associate in Todd & Walker Law’s resource management team.
Rosie has extensive experience in resource management, environmental, and local government law. Rosie has a wealth of knowledge in local planning policies and regulations, including a specialty in rezoning and subdivision proposals across the Queenstown Lakes District Council and Central Otago Districts. Accompanying her wealth of experience, Rosie is also a member of the Institute of Directors and the Resource Management Law Association.
Rosie is a dedicated member of her local community, and is a Trustee of the Queenstown Trails Trust, and former Trustee of the Central Lakes Trust.
The interface between private property rights and interests and resource management decision making
Ben is a Senior Associate in Todd & Walker Law’s resource management, environmental law and civil litigation team.
Ben has assisted on several large, high-profile developments within the Queenstown Lakes District. Ben has also appeared and presented in hearings on resource consent applications and District Plan submissions before the Queenstown Lakes District Council, appeals before the Environment Court, appeals to the High Court and Judicial review proceedings before the High Court and Court of Appeal.
Judge Beck was appointed as Kaiwhakawā o Te Kōti Take Mahi o Aotearoa ǀ Judge of the Employment Court in July 2020 and sworn in on 7 August. She is based in Tamaki Makaurau | Auckland.
Judge Beck was President of the Te Kāhui Ture o Aotearoa | New Zealand Law Society from 2016 to 2019 and a partner at a boutique employment law firm from 2005 up until her appointment as Judge. While in practice she acted for both large and small employers, individual employees and unions. She undertook reviews of a number of organisations including New Zealand Rugby.
Judge Beck brought nearly 30 years of practical legal experience to the bench. She has been a Convener of the NZ Law Society Employment Law Committee, a submitter for the Law Society to Select Committees on legislative change and continues to present at conferences and educational events. She is a member of Tomo Mai, the Heads of Bench Inclusion Committee Justice.
Janet Copeland is the Managing Partner of Copeland Ashcroft. With over 25 years’ experience in employment and health and safety law, Janet also has extensive governance experience having been involved in governance roles across a range of sectors including national sporting codes, netball franchises, tertiary education and local government.
Judge Crosbie graduated, LLB, LLM and PhD from Otago University. He was appointed to the District Bench in 2001 and has been a resident judge at Whanganui, Dunedin, and Christchurch District Courts. The Judge is also a Judge of the Court Martial and a member of the New Zealand Parole Board. Prior to his appointment Judge Crosbie was a litigation partner in the Australasian law firm Minter Ellison Rudd Watts, based in Wellington.
Understanding kindness as a tool to enhance the performance of individuals, teams, and organisations
Nicki is an experienced speaker about all thing’s kindness. She does not tolerate the perception of kindness being a soft or discretionary skill in leaders and has worked with many different organisations to help them understand how to build their capacity for kindness at all levels of their workforces and systems.
As well as recently submitting her PhD at the University of Auckland’s Medical School, Nicki has a long history of engagement with primary healthcare service design and implementation. She acts as a consumer representative on several local and international boards and foundations and is employed as an associate editor at the British Medical Journal Leader. She lives in Nelson with her husband Chris, a Barrister, and their children.
Trust law update and discussion on managing common but tricky issues in Estate and Trust litigation
Matthew is a general commercial and civil litigator based in Wanaka. He practices nationally – and his main areas of work are contentious trust and estate issues, insolvency and shareholder disputes, and professional indemnity / disciplinary matters.
Before joining Bridgeside Chambers and the independent bar in mid-2021, Matthew worked at leading national and international law firms. He started his career at Wynn Williams in 2012 before joining international law firm Osborne Clarke LLP in 2016. In 2018 Matthew returned to New Zealand and worked in Simpson Grierson’s commercial litigation group.
Employment Law: Where is it all heading: What’s “working” in 2025?
Maria practises at Britomart Chambers from both Auckland and now Queenstown. Her practice is principally in employment law, professional misconduct, health law and human rights.
In the last decade, she has also been appointed to conduct independent reviews and investigations including in the health, justice and legal sectors, and for sports, media and banking organisations. Maria also sat as a Deputy Chair of the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal for nine years and is a past President of the New Zealand Bar Association | Ngā Ahorangi Motuhake o te Ture. Maria also practises as a mediator conducting commercial, employment and sports mediations.
Sentencing reforms: the return of three strikes and further restrictions on discretion in sentencing
Henry Benson-Pope is a Lecturer in the Faculty of Law at Ōtākou Whakihu Waka | University of Otago. Prior to the joining the Faculty he was a judge’s clerk to Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias in the Supreme Court, a Crown Prosecutor in Manukau and in 2020 completed an LLM as a Fulbright scholar at New York University.
Sentencing reforms: the return of three strikes and further restrictions on discretion in sentencing
Yasmin Olsen (Ngāpuhi) is a Lecturer in the Faculty of Law at Ōtākou Whakihu Waka | University of Otago. Prior to joining the Faculty, she was a judge’s clerk for Justice Matthew Palmer in the Auckland High Court, a Crown Prosecutor in Manukau and in 2024 completed an LLM as a Fulbright-Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga scholar at Yale Law School.