District Court Judge appointed

Stephen Clark, Māori Land Court Judge of Hamilton has been appointed as a District Court Judge with jury jurisdiction to be based in Hamilton, Attorney-General David Parker announced today.

Judge Clark graduated with an LLB from Auckland University in 1988 and was admitted to the Bar in the same year. He subsequently obtained a Graduate Diploma in Dispute Resolution in 2007 and a BA (Te Reo Māori) in 2013, both from Waikato University.

He began his legal career as a law clerk in 1987 with Sellar Bone & Partners, Auckland. He worked for that firm until 1990 when he joined McCaw Lewis Chapman, Hamilton.  In 1996, he became a litigation partner with McCaw Lewis Chapman and remained with them until his appointment to the Māori Land Court bench in 2008. He was appointed as an alternate Environment Court Judge in 2009.

Judge Clark has sat as a Presiding Officer in relation to various Waitangi Tribunal Inquiries, most recently in relation to Māori primary health. He was a foundation member and past President of Te Hunga Rōia Māori (The Māori Law Society). He has iwi affiliations to Ngāti Maniapoto and Ngāti Hāua (Taumarunui).

Judge Clark will be sworn in on 11 September 2020.