Appointment of Judges of the High Court

Christchurch Queen’s Counsel Nicholas Davidson and Auckland Barrister and Solicitor Rebecca Anne Edwards have been appointed Judges of the High Court, Attorney‑General Christopher Finlayson announced today.

Justice Davidson graduated with an LLB (Hons) from the University of Canterbury in 1971 and became a barrister and solicitor with Duncan Cotterill & Co. in Christchurch. In 1974 he left that firm to join Young Hunter & Co, becoming a partner in 1975. 

Justice Davidson went to the independent bar in 1988 and was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1996. He has led teams across a wide range of civil and prosecution litigation including representing the Serious Fraud Office in the Commission of Inquiry into various tax related matters (the Wine Box Inquiry). He was also counsel before the Royal Commission of Inquiry for the families of those men who died in the Pike River Mine Disaster in 2010.

Justice Davidson was appointed Deputy Chair of the New Zealand Sports Disputes Tribunal in 2003 for a term ending in 2011 and is National Commissioner for New Zealand Cricket. He is a member of the disciplinary structures within SANZAR and the IRB and the Code of Conduct Commission for the International Cricket Council based in Dubai.

Justice Davidson will sit in Christchurch.

Justice Edwards graduated with a BA and LLB (Hons) from the University of Auckland in 1993 and commenced work as a solicitor with the Auckland office of Russell McVeagh. In 1996 she graduated with an LLM from the University of Virginia.

In 1997 Justice Edwards took a position with Herbert Smith in London, before returning to Russell McVeagh as a senior solicitor in 1998. Justice Edwards left Russell McVeagh in 2003 to commence practice as a barrister sole specialising in commercial civil litigation with a particular focus on contract, shareholder and insolvency related disputes.

Justice Edwards was admitted to the permanent bar in the Cook Islands in 2010 and subsequently represented the respondents in the first two Cook Islands appeals to the Privy Council.

Justice Edwards will sit in Auckland.