Russell McVeagh partner Christian Whata has been appointed a judge of the High Court of New Zealand.

Whata has been a partner at Russell McVeagh since 2001 and has during his time at the firm specialised in Maori Issues, litigation, public law, energy, environmental law and resource management. Prior to joining Russell McVeagh, he attended Cambridge University where he obtained an LLM (First Class) and began his career as a solicitor at Simpson Grierson and Kensington Swan. He has co-authored works on Maori Issues and environmental litigation and is a former president of the Auckland Maori Lawyers Association.

He will officially leave the partnership on February 28 ahead of his appointment as a judge in Christchurch on 1 March.

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