High Court Judge appointed

District Court Judge Susan Elizabeth Thomas has been appointed a Judge of the High Court, Attorney-General Christopher Finlayson announced today.

Justice Thomas graduated with a BA and LLB (Hons) from the University of Auckland in 1982 and joined the Auckland firm of Holden Horrocks as a solicitor.

The following year she travelled to London and was admitted as a solicitor in England and Wales, working mainly in private practice acting for a large development company undertaking major property developments, and also spending two years as an in house counsel for Marks and Spencer PLC, then the largest and most profitable UK retailer.

On her return to New Zealand in 1995 Justice Thomas joined Minter Ellison Rudd Watts as a senior associate working primarily in commercial property, construction and resource management. She was admitted to the partnership of that firm the following year.

In 2005 she was appointed a District Court Judge. During her time as a Judge she has been involved in solution-focused judging and in 2012 started a Special Circumstances Court in Wellington to focus on the most challenged and marginalised offenders.

The new High Court Judge will sit in Auckland.