2025 Access to Justice Award Winner

Sonja Cooper has been awarded the 2025 Access to Justice Award, sponsored by LexisNexis New Zealand and the New Zealand Bar Association | Ngā Ahorangi Motuhake o Te Ture, for her decades of work for survivors of abuse in state and faith-based care.

For more than 30 years, Cooper has led claims on behalf of thousands of survivors of abuse, playing a pivotal role in bringing about the Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry. She and her firm, Cooper Legal, have represented more than 3,500 clients, almost all funded through legal aid.

Simon Foote KC, the NZBA president-elect and one of the judges on the award panel, presented the award on behalf of the Association and Lexis Nexis at the annual Bar Conference. Simon said access to justice was “one of the two critical pillars of the rule of law” and essential to maintaining social cohesion, trust in institutions, and individual freedoms.

“Without equal access to the law, we risk a society divided into haves and have-nots,” Foote said. “The NZBA has made access to justice a central focus of its work, and part of that effort is to recognise champions whose commitment makes a real difference. Sonja Cooper is one such champion.”

Foote described Cooper as a “determined and tenacious advocate” whose persistence kept landmark claims alive despite formidable legal and financial obstacles. “Sonja was determined not to be another person who let her clients down. She has done them proud, and the profession proud,” he said.

_{Aya Riola of LexisNexis NZ, Sonja Cooper of Cooper Legal, Paul David KC - Bar Association President, Dr Simon Foote KC - Bar Association President-Elect}

Accepting the award, Cooper thanked the Bar Association, LexisNexis New Zealand, and her colleagues, past and present. “I am deeply honoured and grateful to be the 2025 recipient of this award, and to stand alongside lawyers I deeply admire who have been recognised before me.”

She reflected on her career-long focus on giving a voice to those who had been silenced. “Every day I do not have to question whether my work is meaningful, I know it is. The clients we represent are damaged and traumatised, the legal aid system is underfunded and cumbersome, but I love the work that I do. For me, the most important thing has always been ensuring people who were never heard or believed finally have a voice.”

Cooper also urged more members of the profession to consider becoming legal aid providers. “While legal aid is often undervalued, it protects clients from costs that would otherwise keep them from court. It is essential to ensure access to justice.”

The Access to Justice Award was introduced by the Bar Association in 2018 and has since become a fixture in recognising lawyers who make extraordinary contributions to improving access to justice in New Zealand. The winner will receive a cash prize from the Bar Association, along with an annual LexisNexis subscription package as one of the prize options valued at $3,600.