Employment Court judge appointed

Auckland barrister and solicitor Kathryn Beck has been appointed as a Judge of the Employment Court to be based in Auckland, Attorney-General David Parker announced today.

Ms Beck has been a partner with SBM Legal (formerly Swarbrick Beck Mackinnon and Swarbrick Beck), a boutique employment law firm, since 2005. Her employment practice is evenly spread between employee/union and employer work.

From 1993 to 2005 she worked for Haigh Lyon undertaking a broad range of litigation and worked extensively with John Haigh QC on a number of employment matters in most levels of courts and tribunals. From 2016 to 2019 Ms Beck was President of the New Zealand Law Society. She has also had extensive involvement in NZ Rugby Respect and Responsibility Review Panel and Advisory Board.

Judge Beck will be sworn in on 7 August 2020 in Auckland.