CWLA Professional Women’s Conference 2018 - Shoot for the Stars
The highlight of the Canterbury Women’s Legal Association calendar is the annual Professional Women’s Conference. This year it will be held on Thursday 30 August 2018 at the Rydges Latimer Square. The programme has been finalised and the Conference brochures are available. As with the previous five years, there is a wonderful range of speakers and the CWLA hopes to see as many people there as possible.
This year, the Conference will be chaired by Professor Ursula Cheer. Ursula Cheer is the first female Dean of the University of Canterbury Law School. She graduated from the University of Canterbury in 1982 and practised as a lawyer for six years before moving to Wellington and working for the Minister of Justice and the Prime Minister. She then moved to the UK before returning to Christchurch in 1994. Ursula specialises in Media Law in which she lectures at the University across a range of levels, and is the author of Burrows and Cheer on Media Law in New Zealand (7th ed. 2015).
The Governor-General The Right Honourable Dame Patsy Reddy will open the Conference. Before becoming Governor-General, Dame Patsy had a career in the law, business and public sector, becoming the first female partner of the firm Watts and Patterson. Dame Patsy has also had several governance roles at a number of leading companies in New Zealand. Dame Patsy’s public sector work has included work on pay equity, reviews of New Zealand intelligence and security, and the performance of several government agencies. She has also acted as Chief Crown Negotiator of Treaty Settlements.
The other speakers are:
The Honourable Justice Ellen France Prior to being appointed to the High Court in April 2002, Justice France was a senior legal advisor in the Department of Justice Law Reform Division; Crown Counsel and then Deputy Solicitor-General in the Crown Law Office. Justice France was appointed a Judge of the Court of Appeal in June 2006, and then made President with effect from 1 September 2014. In August 2015, Justice France sat as President on the Court of Appeal’s first all-female Bench in its 153 year history. On 22 July 2016, she was appointed a Supreme Court Judge, and received the New Zealand Order of Merit in the same year and on 13 June 2017, she was part of the Supreme Court bench that had a female majority, for the first time in New Zealand’s history.
Nadia Lim will speak in our health and well-being slot. ‘Nude Food’ advocate Nadia Lim is all about everyday simple, healthy, delicious food. Nadia is an Otago University qualified dietitian and former MasterChef New Zealand winner. She has seven best-selling cookbooks, is one of the founders of My Food Bag, has her own lifestyle Magazine 'Nadia' which was crowned 2017 Supreme Magazine of the Year and is the proud mum of Bodhi. She is also ambassador of the Cambodia Charitable Trust, a charity that supports schools and teacher training colleges in rural Cambodia, helping to re-build the education system after the Pol Pot regime.
The Honourable Nikki Kaye Nikki was elected as the MP for Auckland Central in 2008, winning the seat for the National Party for the first time in New Zealand history. In her parliamentary career she has handled more than 50,000 constituency cases, been a strong advocate for environmental and government issues, and served as a Minister of the Crown across a range of portfolios including education. Nikki is currently MP for Auckland Central and the National Party Spokesperson for Education and National Party Spokesperson for Sport and Recreation.
Simon Challies At 36, Simon became the CEO of Ryman, leading the company for 11 years through a period of exceptional growth and maturity. Simon stepped down in 2017 due to the onset of Parkinsons, and has since co-founded Braveheart CHCH, become executive chairman of Nutrient Rescue, and is actively involved in several social enterprises and charities. Simon was awarded Deloitte Top 200 Executive of the Year in 2014, but he would argue that he is better known for his worldwide youtube hit – the Dianna Isaac village take on Pharrell Williams “Happy”.
With the help of our sponsors Buddle Findlay (Platinum), Kendons (Gold), Craigs Investment Partners (Gold), Anthony Harper (Gold), Anderson Lloyd (Silver), Harmans (Silver), Leo Legal Recruitment (Silver) and Thomson Reuters (Bronze) the CWLA is looking forward to a stimulating afternoon. The Conference is readily accessible to members and non-members, students and not for profit groups, and we hope to see you there.
