Attorney-General Judith Collins has today announced the appointment of two new Family Court Judges.
The new Judges – Annette Gray and Annette Page – will take up their roles in April and May and fill Family Court vacancies at the Auckland and Manukau courts.
Ms Gray completed her law degree at Victoria University before joining Phillips Fox in 1987. She then moved to Buddle Findlay, where she worked in the family and medical areas, before joining specialist family law practice Jan Clark Law in Porirua in 1994.
She spent a year with Volunteer Service Abroad in Solomon Islands in 1999, returning to Wellington in 2000 and setting up practice as a specialist family lawyer. Since 2007 she has been principal of Buchanan Gray.
She is a District Inspector under the Mental Health Act and is a member of the panel of legal counsel for Hague Convention cases.
Judge Gray will sit in Auckland and will be sworn in on 16 April.
Ms Page was admitted to the bar in 1997 and commenced her legal career as a junior barrister working with Marie Dyhrberg KC before joining Smith and Partners in Waitākere, practising a broad range of litigation work in the District and High courts.
She has been a barrister sole since 2010, practising in all areas of family law.
Ms Page has held several roles within the New Zealand Law Society and is presently the Waitākere regional representative of the Family Law Section.
Judge Page will sit in Manukau and will be sworn in on 1 May.
