Appointment of Queen's Counsel

The Attorney-General, Rt Hon D.A.M. Graham, today announced the appointment of Kevin Ryan, Robert John Katz and Ailsa Patricia Duffy, barristers of Auckland; Paul Robert Heath, barrister of Hamilton; Christopher John Hodson, Ian Ronald Millard and Robert Andrew Dobson, barristers of Wellington; Anthony Cuthbert Hughes-Johnson, barrister of Christchurch and Roydon John Somerville, barrister of Dunedin to be Queen's Counsel.

Kevin Ryan graduated from Auckland University and joined the firm later to become Subritzky and Ryan. He went into practice on his own account as a barrister and solicitor in 1961 and commenced practice as a barrister sole in 1990. He is the convenor of the Legal Aid Assignment Committee of the Auckland District Law Society and a member of the Auckland District Legal Aid Sub Committee. He served as President of the Criminal Bar Association between 1988 and 1990 and is now a life member.

Robert John Katz graduated from the University of Auckland with an LLB (Hons). After a number of years in practice he became a partner in the merged firm of Simpson Grierson Butler White in 1985 and commenced practice as a barrister in 1991. He has served on various Law Society Committees and was also a founding committee member of the Intellectual Property Society of Australia and New Zealand, NZ branch. He has lectured part-time at Auckland University and contributed to a number of legal periodicals on intellectual property law.

Ailsa Patricia Duffy graduated from Auckland University with an LLM (Hons). She went into practice as a barrister sole in 1980 and spent some time between 1981 and 1985 as a solicitor with the Grey Lynn Neighbourhood Law Office. Between 1988 and 1996 she was employed as a Crown Counsel at the Crown Law Office. She has served on a number of Law Society Committees in both Auckland and Wellington and is currently a member of the Public Issues and Continuing Legal Education Committees of the Auckland District Law Society. She was appointed as counsel assisting a Ministerial Committee of Inquiry into the death of a patient at Carrington Hospital in Auckland in 1990, and in 1991 was appointed as counsel assisting a Ministerial Committee of Inquiry into Hepatitis C infected blood products. In 1996 she was appointed one of a three person committee of inquiry into the Centrepoint Community Growth Trust.

Paul Robert Heath graduated from Auckland University and joined the Commercial Affairs Division of the Department of Justice in 1978 as an investigating solicitor. In 1981 he joined Stace Hammond Grace and Partners and became a partner in 1983. He retired as a partner of the firm in 1995 but continued to be associated with the firm as a consultant. In 1997 he was engaged as a consultant to the Law Commission, and he commenced practice as a barrister sole in 1998. He has been active in a number of committees both for the Law Society and the Waikato/Bay of Plenty District Law Society. He is currently convenor of the Law Society's Commercial and Business Law Committee and a member of the Joint Committee on Solvency Law established by the Law Society and Institute of Chartered Accountants. He has given seminars and papers on a number of insolvency related issues for Law Society conferences as well as to the International Bar Association and the Canadian Bar Association. He has published a number of articles in New Zealand and international legal periodicals and is the author of the title on insolvency for the Laws of New Zealand. He is a Fellow of the Arbitrators and Mediators Institute and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK).

Christopher John Hodson graduated from Victoria University of Wellington and joined the firm of Gooding and Watson in 1966, becoming a partner in 1968. In 1983 he joined Macalister Mazengarb Perry Castle as a Partner. He commenced practice as a barrister sole in 1991. He has served on various committees of the Wellington District Law Society and in 1994 he convened the Australasian and Far East Medical Legal Advisers annual conference. In 1995 he was appointed Deputy Judge Advocate General of the Armed Services and in 1996 was appointed to the panel of prosecuting counsel in Wellington. He is currently President elect of the Medico Legal Society. He has presented a number of papers on medico legal issues and was a guest lecturer at the University of Otago in 1989 and again in 1995. He is the author of the title "Medical Practitioners" for the Laws of New Zealand.

Ian Ronald Millard graduated from Victoria University of Wellington with an LLB and a Bachelor of Commerce and Administration. In 1969 he graduated with an LLM (Hons). He commenced practice as a barrister sole in 1990. He was one of the two editors of the fourth edition of "Morrison's Company Law" and was the sole service editor until 1988. He was also a contributor to "Dimensions in Banking and Foreign Exchange Law" edited by John Prebble. He is currently a cost reviser for the Wellington District Law Society, and for seven years until 1997 served on the Law Society's Legislation Committee. He has also been a member of the Advisory Board to the Competition Law and Policy Institute and has presented papers at workshops held by the Institute on competition law.

Robert Andrew Dobson graduated from Victoria University of Wellington and joined the Wellington firm later to become Rudd Watts and Stone. He commenced practice as a barrister sole in 1991. His practice is primarily in the field of securities and company law. In 1990 he studied mediation at Harvard University and has since conducted a number of mediations and arbitrations. He has been a member of the faculty at the Law Society Litigation Skills Programme in five of the last seven years and been a co-presenter of Law Society travelling seminars on civil procedure topics and on damages. He has been a member of the Law Society's Legislation Committee for the last two years. He is one of the editors of the text "McGechan on Procedure".

Anthony Cuthbert Hughes-Johnson graduated from the University of Canterbury and joined the firm of Duncan Cotterill as a solicitor. In 1978 he joined the firm of Dougal Stringer as a partner and in 1988 commenced practice as a barrister sole. In 1995 he was appointed as counsel to assist the Commission of Inquiry into the collapse of a viewing platform at Cave Creek. He is Chairman of the Canterbury District Law Society and a member of the Law Society Council. He is also a member of the Law Society Law Asia Committee. He practises in civil and commercial litigation and also in the field of resource management.

Royden John Somerville graduated from the University of Otago and commenced practice as a barrister sole in 1979. His principle areas of practice are civil, public and environmental law cases, and he lectured in environmental law at Otago University for a number of years. He is currently on the Law Society Committee on resource management law and the National Committee of the Resource Management Law Association. He has also served on the Council of the Otago District Law Society and the Bar Association. He has acted as Chairman of the Environmental Law Committee of the International Bar Association's section on business law.