He joins David Laurenson and Sacha Nepe
Attorney-General Judith Collins has announced the appointment of former Samoa attorney-general Hermann Retzlaff as a District Court judge.
He joins David Laurenson and Sacha Nepe as new appointees to the bench. They will fill vacancies in their assigned courts next month: Retzlaff will be sworn in on 19 May at the Dunedin District Court, Laurenson on 12 May at the Wellington District Court, and Nepe on 23 May at the Manukau District Court.
Retzlaff was admitted to the bar in 2003. He served his scholarship bond in Samoa with the National University of Samoa; in 2005, he commenced as a Crown prosecutor with Meredith Connell.
He started with the Public Defence Service as a senior solicitor in 2009 and appeared before all level of Auckland courts. He was a North Shore public defender and became president of the Pacific Lawyers Association, a role he held from 2012 to 2014.
Retzlaff became Samoa’s attorney-general in 2016 and held that role for four years. He transferred to Kayes Fletcher Walker as a senior Crown prosecutor in 2020 and became public defender of Waitakere in 2021.
He holds the chiefly matai titles from his family in Samoa of Lemalu from Safato'a Lefaga and a bestowed chiefly title of Mua'utasi from Puipa'a Faleata. In February 2024, he was appointed national public defender, a role he currently holds.
Laurenson focuses on public and commercial law. He was a paralegal in London from 1988–1990. He joined the New Zealand bar in 1990, commencing with Bell Gully in the same year.
He moved to Luke Cunningham in 1993, where he remained until 1996. He rejoined Bell Gully in 1996.
In 1999, Laurenson transitioned to the bar, working with Capital Chambers. In 2002, he made the jump to Thomas More Chambers, which merged with Clifton Chambers in 2017.
Laurenson was part of the Crown Prosecution Panel from 2000 to 2006. He took silk in 2014.
Nepe (Rongowhakaata, Ngāti Porou, Ngāi Tāmanuhiri and Te Aitanga a Mahaki) was admitted to the bar in 1997. She was a staff solicitor with Rangitauira & Co in Rotorua before relocating to Hamilton.
She joined Preston Matenga in 1999 before moving to Bogers Scott & Shortland, where she was a senior solicitor, in 2004. She became a barrister and solicitor in 2007, according to the government.
Nepe was primarily a litigator in the District Court’s summary and jury trial jurisdictions. In Family Court, she acted as a lawyer for child, youth advocate, and lawyer for subject person.
