Three District Court Judges appointed

Jane Forrest has worked in litigation in Wellington for over 25 years. She was a partner in the firm Darroch Forrest Lawyers before becoming a Barrister in 2020.

Attorney-General David Parker has announced the appointment of Janey Louise Forrest of Wellington, Alexander Rangiheua Henry Laurenson of New Plymouth and Sarah Margaret Morrison of Wellington as District Court Judges.

Jane Forrest has worked in litigation in Wellington for over 25 years. She was a partner in the firm Darroch Forrest Lawyers before becoming a Barrister in 2020.

Her practice has an emphasis on family law (including lawyer for child) and insurance. Her insurance work primarily involves representing professionals (lawyers and health professionals) in civil litigation, complaints, and disciplinary processes. In recent years she has also been involved in CLE: as faculty on the Litigation Skills Programme and a presenter at Stepping Up.

Judge Forrest will be sworn in on 12 May 2022 and will take up her appointment at the Manukau District Court.

Sarah Morrison has specialised in family law, having spent the early part of her career as a solicitor in Wellington at Tripe Matthews & Feist and Hayman Lawyers and then four years leading a family law team at Cavell Leitch Pringle & Boyle in Christchurch.

Between 2007 and 2011 she was an Instructor and then Programme Manager at the Institute of Professional Legal Studies. On her return to fulltime practice in 2015, following parental leave, she was a Senior Associate and then Partner at Lower Hutt firm ARL Lawyers.

Ms Morrison has been practising as a barrister since 2019, is an approved Lawyer for Child, Lawyer for Subject Person, Lawyer to Assist, member of the Law Society’s National Friends Panel and a Standards Committee Convenor.

Judge Morrison will be sworn in on 2 May 2022 and will take up her appointment with a Family Court warrant in the Waitakere District Court.

Alexander Laurenson was admitted to the bar in 2000 and started as a staff solicitor at Govett Quilliam in New Plymouth before a move to Porirua as in-house counsel for Child Youth and Family and then as a staff solicitor and associate at the Catriona Doyle and Rohan Cochrane Law Office.  He re-joined Govett Quilliam in 2007 and has been a partner in that firm since 2008.

He has specialised in family law and general private litigation and has extensive court experience, including trust and estate litigation. He has appeared extensively as the Court-appointed lawyer to represent children. His governance experience includes a number of trustee positions for community groups and charitable organisations and he has been involved in sports administration roles. His iwi affiliations include Ngati Tuwharetoa, Ati Haunui-a-Paparangi, Ngati Rangi, Ngai Tumapuhia-A-Rangi, and Ngai Tahu.

Judge Laurenson will be sworn in on 4 May and will be primarily based at the Papakura District Court.

(With Inputs from New Zealand Government Press Release)