The senior lawyer was the first female judge of the Cook Islands
Christine Mary Grice CNZM has been appointed a judge of the High Court of New Zealand.
Grice, who will sit in Wellington, graduated in 1979 with an LLB (Hons) from the University of Canterbury then joined Fell & Harley Lawyers in Nelson. She moved to Hamilton firm Harkness Henry in 1981, eventually joining the firm’s partnership in 1985.
Grice chaired the board and council of the New Zealand Law Society as president from 2000 to 2003. She was the society’s second female president.
In 2004, Grice was awarded the Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the legal profession. In 2007, she became a judge of the High Court of the Cook Islands, becoming the first female judge of the jurisdiction.
Grice resigned from the Harkness Henry partnership in 2010 to take up the permanent post of executive director of the New Zealand Law Society.
Justice Christine Mary Grice
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Grice, who will sit in Wellington, graduated in 1979 with an LLB (Hons) from the University of Canterbury then joined Fell & Harley Lawyers in Nelson. She moved to Hamilton firm Harkness Henry in 1981, eventually joining the firm’s partnership in 1985.
Grice chaired the board and council of the New Zealand Law Society as president from 2000 to 2003. She was the society’s second female president.
In 2004, Grice was awarded the Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the legal profession. In 2007, she became a judge of the High Court of the Cook Islands, becoming the first female judge of the jurisdiction.
Grice resigned from the Harkness Henry partnership in 2010 to take up the permanent post of executive director of the New Zealand Law Society.
Justice Christine Mary Grice
Related stories:
Pioneering study shows speed isn’t everything in High Court civil cases
Judicial salaries get a boost
