Contact Details:

 

Telephone and email:

Telephone: +64 3-365-1255

Mobile: +64 21-59-5599

Email: ajfwilding@xtra.co.nz

 

Postal Address:

 

A.J.F. Wilding KC

P.O. Box 2929

Christchurch 8140

New Zealand

 

Physical Address:

 

184 Durham Street

Christchurch Central

New Zealand

James Wilding KC

 

 

I commenced practice in 1993. My focus is trust, relationship property, child and medical law. I have been appointed by the courts in cases involving childcare, mental health, intellectual capacity, unreasonable lending, trust and statutory interpretation issues.

 

In addition to my private practice, I am the Convenor of the New Zealand Mental Health Review Tribunal and an appointed Judge of the New Zealand Court Martial Appeal Court.

 

My experience includes conducting and acting in inquiries, involving fact specific, systemic and regulatory issues. This includes being counsel assisting the Royal Commission into the Pike River Coal Mine Tragedy, assisting the NZLS with Dame Margaret Bazley's review into legal aid and assisting private and public entities with sensitive inquiries.

 

Practitioners and law firms appoint me to represent them in disciplinary investigations. I served on the Canterbury District Law Society Disciplinary and Canterbury Branch Standards committees  and am a member of the NZLS Complaints Advisory Panel.

 

I have a keen interest in human rights and public law. I was a member from inception in 2007 until my resignation in 2023 of the NZLS Rule of Law Committee, a former convener of the NZLS Legal Services Committee and a former member of the Government's Legislation Design and Advisory Committee.

 

I served as a District Inspector of Mental Health from 1999 to 2011 and sat on the Canterbury Medical Ethics and the Lincoln University Human Ethics committees.

 

My commitment to professional development includes assisting with civil litigation, family law and mental health training. I co-present the NZLS Introduction to Civil Litigation Skills course.

 

My community involvement includes being a past chair of the Board of Odyssey House, Christchurch, a drug and alcohol service, during which time a residential drug and alcohol programme for young people was established.

 

Areas of practice – litigation and legal advice as to:

 

• Trusts and estates

• Administrative law

• Internal investigations

• Commissions of inquiry

• Child law

• Medical law

• Relationship property

• Professional discipline