Former Rotorua Crown Solicitor Fletcher Pilditch will assist Coroner Dr Wallace Bain in an inquiry and inquests into the deaths of eight forestry workers during 2012 and 2013.
The inquests will be heard in Rotorua the week of May 12 and the following week the coroner will hear evidence and submissions on forestry safety.
Mr Pilditch left his high-profile Rotorua role at the end of last year to work as an independent barrister in Auckland.