Leading Māori lawyers appointed partners at NZ’s largest litigation firm

Law firm Meredith Connell are Auckland's Crown Solicitors. Photo / NZME

Two leading Māori lawyers have been appointed partners of Aotearoa’s largest litigation firm Meredith Connell, the crown solicitors for Auckland.

Matthew Nathan (Ngāti Whātua, Te Uri-o-Hau) and Chris Merrick (Te Whakapiko o Ngāti Manaia, Ngāti Wai, Ma’ufanga, Niua) bring the firm’s partnership to 33 across Auckland and Wellington.

Nathan has been in the firm’s crown specialist team since returning to Aotearoa in 2021 and has a career that spans two decades prosecuting serious and complex crime on both sides of the Tasman, Meredith Connell said in a statement on Friday.

A highly experienced trial and appellate lawyer leading more than 200 criminal trials, Nathan specialises in prosecuting homicide, serious sexual offending, organised crime and complex fraud.

Matthew Nathan has been appointed a partner at law firm Meredith Connell. Photo / Supplied

He was appointed a Queen’s Counsel in 2015 and deputy director of public prosecutions for the Northern Territory of Australia in 2018. The following year, he was elected president of the Australian Association of Crown Prosecutors.

Born in Papakura, Nathan was raised on the Pōuto Peninsula on the Kaipara Harbour.

His confirmation as partner requires sign-off by the New Zealand Law Society.

Chris Merrick has acted for Te Hunga Rōia Māori. Photo / Supplied

The other is Chris Merrick. He is an experienced litigator, drawing his legal expertise and cultural background together in his advisory work.

He has acted for Te Hunga Rōia Māori (the Māori Law Society) in matters before the Court of Appeal, Supreme Court and appeared before select committees, including for the Pacific Lawyers Association.

Merrick’s roles have included counsel assisting the Abuse in Care Royal Commission, inquiry lawyer to the Dilworth independent inquiry, and deputy chair of the Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal.

A speaker of te reo Māori, his newly established team specialise in navigating Te Ao Māori and Pacific legal issues, including advice on system change, capability building and cultural and legal advisory services.

Meredith Connell has been the Office of the Crown Solicitor for Auckland for more than 100 years and is one of Aotearoa’s largest and most established law firms with more than 160 lawyers.