Born and raised in Whangarei, Ms O'Connor started her legal career at Henderson Reeves Connell Rishworth where she spent three years practising family law before joining MWIS in October 2003.
Her focus now is criminal law, particularly trials involving serious charges in both the District and High Court.
Ms O'Connor's father and his brother were both police officers while her elder brother, Simon O'Connor, is the National Party MP for Tamaki.
Of all manner of cases she prosecutes, the ones involving sexual abuse are the most difficult because they involve dealing with utterly personal matters, she said.
Northland's crime rate doesn't startle her but she is concerned about the increasing number of young offenders ending up in courts.
Her motto is: "To do the best job that I can do to get justice for families."
Asked about the possibility of moving to the bench in future, she said: "If the opportunity is there and I feel I've achieved everything as a prosecutor, I would."
Fellow partner at MWIS, Andrew Golightly said Ms O'Connor was the first female partner at the firm since 1922.
"She represents our core values of commitment, respect and integrity. It is an exciting and positive chapter in the firm's long history," he said.
