Prue McGuire and Chris Macklin have been appointed District Court judges in Palmerston North and Nelson, respectively. Photos / Supplied
Prue McGuire and Chris Macklin have been appointed District Court judges in Palmerston North and Nelson, respectively. Photos / Supplied
Two of the country’s newest District Court judges have spent the majority of their careers practising law in Rotorua.
Prue McGuire has been appointed a judge in Palmerston North and will start in April and Chris Macklin will start as a Nelson District Court judge in May.
McGuire is aRotorua-based barrister who has worked extensively in criminal and family law.
Her move to the Palmerston North District Court is a return to where she started her legal career after being admitted to the bar in 1992.
Born in Taihape and raised on a farm in the King Country, McGuire lived in an isolated area called Retaruke, south of Taumarunui. She attended boarding school before doing her law degree at the University of Canterbury.
Her first job was at LW Goodman in Palmerston North before becoming a staff solicitor and later an associate at Wollerman Cooke McClure in Carterton.
In 2001, she made the move to Rotorua and joined Davys Burton. She became a partner in 2005 and during that period was a Crown and senior Crown prosecutor.
McGuire established herself as a barrister sole in 2007 and has represented clients in both family and criminal court matters since that time.
She is a present member of the Family Law Section Advisory Panel, a mental health advocate and Lawyer for Child.
She is married, and she and her husband have five children.
“I have had an amazing career in the law, one which I have enjoyed throughout. At times it has been tough and challenging but it has also been incredibly rewarding.”
Judge Prue McGuire. Photo / Supplied
She said she had focused her role in the family area but was now keen to take up the opportunity and the challenge of being a judge.
“I am incredibly humbled to be offered this job. I have tried to help people through what is often one of the worst periods of their lives ... I am looking forward to a continued role in people’s lives where needed, serving the community to deliver fair and unbiased outcomes.”
While she was looking forward to learning more about the local community in Palmerston North, she confessed she would “very much” miss Rotorua and its “fabulous people”.
“I may one day come back to work here. I am certainly not against that idea. It is a special place for me, having spent 25 years here, working, raising children and making use of the fabulous resources we have. I will particularly miss the Redwoods and the lakes.”
McGuire will be sworn in on April 21.
Macklin makes the move
Macklin is now a Nelson-based barrister but until 2023 spent 17 years gaining extensive criminal and regulatory litigation experience in Rotorua, leaving the city as a principal Crown prosecutor and partner at Gordon and Pilditch.
He was admitted to the bar in 2006, and following a brief period at Russell McVeagh, joined Gordon and Pilditch, the Office of the Crown Solicitor in Rotorua.
He was an associate at that firm between 2010 and 2013, after which he became a partner.
Judge Chris Macklin. Photo / Supplied
He left to set up practise as a barrister in 2023 and since that time has been based in Nelson, although most of his practice work takes place elsewhere.
He was also the convenor of the New Zealand Law Society Criminal Law Committee until recently.
Macklin told the Rotorua Daily Post he was born in Christchurch but moved around while growing up.
“By the time I left Rotorua, I had been living there longer than any other part of the country.”
When asked if he aspired to be a judge, he said: “As a lawyer, and one passionate about court work, it’s a role I have always looked up to. So, in that sense, it’s a role I thought I would like to do one day, if I got the opportunity.”
He said serving the community was what he looked forward to the most.
“The community relies on a robust but humane justice system, and judges play a key role in maintaining that system. It’s a great honour to be trusted to work in that role.”
Macklin did not rule out a return to Rotorua.
“I would never say never to Rotorua. It’s a magic place with so much going for it. My wife and I raised our children through their younger years in Rotorua. Right now, we are loving being back on the Mainland, but Rotorua will always have a special place in our hearts.”
He will be based at the Nelson District Court and will be sworn in on May 15.
Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.
