In A First An Indian Descent Parsi Judge Appointed In New Zealand HC

Mr. Pheroze Jagose, a Wellington Barrister of Parsi Indian descent, has been appointed as a Judge of the New Zealand High Court.

Justice Jagose will sit in Auckland. His swearing-in ceremony was reportedly as culturally diverse as he is, with references from Lady Gaga to the heritage of his Parsi Indian father and Irish mother.

The speakers not just lauded his legal skills, but also praised him for his humor, modesty, and grammatical perfection. David Goddard, QC, speaking for the Law Society, said having seen what the judge could do with 140 characters on Twitter, he was looking forward to similarly concise judgments.

Before being appointed, he was internationally recognized as a leading litigator, Attorney General Chris Finlayson QC noted, with the official release stating –

“Justice Jagose graduated with an LLB from the University of Auckland in 1987 and commenced employment as a legal officer with the Northern Government Officers’ Union in Auckland. In 1989 he graduated with an MA in Industrial Relations from the University of Lancaster and began working as a legal officer with the New Zealand Air Line Pilots’ Association.

In 1995 Justice Jagose joined the Wellington office of Chapman Tripp as a solicitor, specializing in telecommunications and other corporate commercial litigation. Justice Jagose became a partner at Chapman Tripp in 2000.

He has been internationally recognized as a leading commercial litigator by independent legal directories Chambers Asia Pacific, Chambers Global and Legal 500 and was the only non-QC barrister ranked by Chambers in New Zealand in 2016.

Justice Jagose is widely published and was involved in designing and supervising the New Zealand Law Society entry‑level Civil Litigation Skills course.”