Te Kaupeka Ture | Faculty of Law - 150th Anniversary Public Lecture

The Faculty of Law welcomes you to the following Public Lecture presented by:

Dame Helen Winkelmann - Chief Justice of New Zealand

“Keep Running up that Hill: The challenge of educating a legal profession fit for the next 150 years”.

Day: Thursday 13 July 2023

Time: 6.30pm to 7.30pm (with drinks and canapes from 5.30pm)

Venue: Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre, Conway C5

RSVP: by Friday 7 July for catering purposes

Abstract: The Canterbury Law Faculty has a long and unique history of maintaining a balance between the doctrinal and the practical in the teaching of law. This lecture draws on that history to discuss the importance of legal education to shaping a profession that is fit for society’s changing needs. The challenge for law schools is to maintain the balance between the doctrinal and the practical if they are to produce graduates who are broadly representative of the communities they will serve.

Speaker Bio: Dame Helen Winkelmann was sworn in as New Zealand’s 13th Chief Justice on 14 March 2019. A graduate of Auckland University, she was admitted to the bar in 1985 and practised law until 2001, when she began practice as a barrister sole. She was appointed as a Judge of the High Court in 2004, and then Chief High Court Judge in 2010, before her appointment to the Court of Appeal in 2015, and the Supreme Court in 2019. As Chief Justice, Dame Helen has identified three priorities: facilitating access to justice, connecting the courts to the community, and supporting a representative and diverse judiciary.