BARRISTER

RECOGNITION/AWARDS:

International Bar Association (London) (Section on Business Law) - scholar 1991

New Zealand Law Society - Young Representative (LAWASIA Seoul, Korea) 1999

TVNZ - feature presenter Dunedin as the educational centre of New Zealand 1999

PREVIOUS POSITIONS:

Chair:

New Zealand Law Society Family Law Section

Foundation Director:

New Zealand Law Society Continuing Legal Education Board

President:

Family and Youth Courts Association of New Zealand (Dunedin) Inc.

Convenor:

Otago Women Lawyers Society

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION:

Anita Chan is a specialist family law barrister.  She heads a team of five family law barristers.

Anita’s particular expertise is in difficult relationship property and child law cases.  These include cases involving high value property, farms, complex business assets, trust-owned assets, assets situated overseas, and parenting, relocation or abduction of children.

She is a passionate advocate for children, and is regularly appointed by the Court to represent children in difficult cases.

As a former Chair of the Family Law Section of the New Zealand Law Society, Anita has been at the forefront of New Zealand family law.  As Chair she represented the New Zealand family law profession on issues of practice and law reform.  This involved dealing closely with Members of Parliament, the New Zealand Law Commission, the Children’s Commission, the judiciary, various lobby groups and the media.  http://www2.justice.govt.nz/family/publications/speeches-papers/archives.asp?inline=MahonyNZLS2001.asp

Anita has presented at numerous national and international family law conferences including in Seoul, Brisbane, Shanghai, Adelaide, Capetown and Vancouver.

She chaired the New Zealand Law Society Family Law Section (combined with LAWASIA) conference in 2001 and has chaired numerous national workshops and conference intensives in family law.

Anita is one of only six New Zealand lawyers to have been appointed a Fellow of the prestigious International Academy of International Lawyers (London).  She was elected as a governor of the Academy in 2008.

She was a foundation director of the New Zealand Law Society Continuing Legal Education Board.

Anita is a regular guest lecturer in family law at the University of Otago.

She has been a director of the ChildFund (New Zealand) Board since 2002.

Name:

Anita Chan - LL.B

QUALIFICATIONS:

LL.B (Otago) 1984

Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand

Approved Lawyer for Children

CURRENT POSITIONS:

Barrister:

Family Law Specialist

Governor and Parliamentarian:

International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (London)

Director:

ChildFund (New Zealand)

MEMBERSHIP OF PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS:

International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (London)

New Zealand Law Society

New Zealand Law Society Family Law Section

New Zealand Bar Association

Otago Women Lawyers Society