Mr Matthew (Matt) Smith
Contact Details
About Me
My main area of practice is civil and commercial litigation, with a particular focus on public law. My expertise is in judicial review and declaratory judgment proceedings and in the use of different public law tools (including litigation) to achieve legal, regulatory or policy outcomes. I do a variety of work in these areas, for individuals, entities of many kinds, public sector bodies, industry groups and NGOs.
I have appeared in the courts at all levels (the Supreme Court (as junior counsel), the Court of Appeal (as both lead and junior counsel), the High Court (as both lead and junior counsel) and the District Court (as lead counsel)) as well as in a number of specialist courts and tribunals, including the Waitangi Tribunal and the Māori Land Court. My litigation experience includes trial and appellate work, and I am able to provide legal and strategic advice, support and representation in contentious and non-contentious matters, for plaintiffs, for defendants and for interested third parties.
In addition to court and tribunal work, I am experienced in providing legal and strategic advice and support on a full range of public law issues and options, including advice on regulatory investigations and public consultation processes.
I was admitted to the Bar in 2007. I hold LLB (First Class Hons.) and BA (Political Studies) degrees from the University of Otago, and an LLM from Harvard Law School, where I was a Frank Knox Fellow from 2008–2009.
