Recently retired Senior Court of Appeal Judge and president of the New Zealand Law Commission Sir Grant Hammond is joining Te Piringa - Faculty of Law on a part-time basis as a Professor of Judicial Studies.

Sir Grant, knighted in 2011 for services to law and who received the first Doctor of Laws degree from Waikato University in 2015, will be teaching a course in judicial remedies and assisting with supervision of graduate students.

The judge has had an extensive career that’s a combination of practice and academia, taking him all over the world. 

Coming from a family farming background, Sir Grant says he’s pleased to be associated with the Waikato again. "I grew up here and it's my home," he says. 

The Director of Clinical Legal Education, Cheryl Green has been appointed the position of Chairperson of Te Piringa - Faculty of Law. 

Cheryl will be responsible for the performance of the Faculty in terms of teaching, research and scholarship pursuant to the University’s Vision, Strategic Plan and Academic Plan.

She will maintain her roles as the Director of Clinical Legal Education, Associate Dean Undergraduate and Lecturer at the law school. 

Cheryl brings a wealth of experience to the position. Prior to becoming a University lecturer, she worked as a solicitor in private practice for nine years practicing in the areas of Criminal, Family, Employment Civil and Commercial law. 

The Waikato law graduate also spent six years teaching the post-graduate legal professionals course set by the New Zealand Law Society which is required prior to admittance to the High Court of New Zealand. This included the teaching and assessing of the skills of Interviewing, Advising, Law Office Management, Negotiation, Mediation, Drafting, Professional Responsibility, Drafting for Advocacy, Trial Preparation, Research and Advocacy.

Contact Cheryl to find out how you can become more involved with the Faculty and development of future lawyers.

 Alberto Alvarez-Jimenez, a senior lecturer at Te Piringa, recently presented his paper “UN Members’ State Practice in Relation to the Right of Self-Defence against Non-State Actors: 2001 – 2015” at a conference organized by the European Society of International Law in Moscow. 

The commentator of Alberto’s paper was Sir Michael Wood, a current member of the UN International Law Commission, and a former principal legal advisor to the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office. 

Two Waikato University research assistants, Sarah Thomson and Chelsea Summers, have also been involved in this research project.

Around 150 school students (50 teams) across New Zealand recently took part in the annual Waikato University Secondary School’s Mooting Competition.

Students travelled from Invercargill, Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Hastings, Wellington, New Plymouth and Rotorua to participate.

The final stage of the mooting competition will take place at Hamilton High Court on Friday 8 July at 6pm. All Waikato alumni and friends are welcome to attend. 

If you would like to contribute to the development of future lawyers by judging students in the next competition, please contact the Director of Competitions, Cheryl Green.