The judge established the first major New Zealand law firm unit specialising in Māori issues
Justice Joseph Victor Williams has been appointed as a judge of the Court of Appeal of New Zealand.
Williams earned his LLB from Victoria University in 1986, subsequently joining the institution as a junior lecturer in law. In 1988, he graduated with an LLM (Hons) from the University of British Columbia and joined Kensington Swan.
At the top firm, he established the first unit in a major New Zealand firm that specialised in Māori issues. He also led the growth of the firm’s environmental practice.
Williams became a Kensington Swan partner in 1992, before leaving two years later to help establish Walters Williams & Co in Auckland and Wellington.
He was appointed chief judge of the Māori Land Court in 1999 and as acting chairperson of the Waitangi Tribunal in 2000. He stepped down from the tribunal in 2004, before becoming a High Court of New Zealand judge in 2008.
Williams is affiliated with Ngāti Pūkenga and Te Arawa (Waitaha, Tapuika).
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Williams earned his LLB from Victoria University in 1986, subsequently joining the institution as a junior lecturer in law. In 1988, he graduated with an LLM (Hons) from the University of British Columbia and joined Kensington Swan.
At the top firm, he established the first unit in a major New Zealand firm that specialised in Māori issues. He also led the growth of the firm’s environmental practice.
Williams became a Kensington Swan partner in 1992, before leaving two years later to help establish Walters Williams & Co in Auckland and Wellington.
He was appointed chief judge of the Māori Land Court in 1999 and as acting chairperson of the Waitangi Tribunal in 2000. He stepped down from the tribunal in 2004, before becoming a High Court of New Zealand judge in 2008.
Williams is affiliated with Ngāti Pūkenga and Te Arawa (Waitaha, Tapuika).
Related stories:
Supreme Court judges change robes
Māori Land Court ‘brother judge’ remembered
