Bankside Chambers was founded in 1990 when a group of barristers took up tenancies at 9 Princes Street, Auckland. In 2005, the founding members moved to the current premises on Shortland Street and renamed their set Bankside Chambers. Bankside Street intersects with Shortland Street where the building is located.
Bankside Chambers has a distinguished record. Many of our members are King's Counsel and a number of former members have served as Justices of the High Court and Court of Appeal, as well as judges in various foreign jurisdictions such as Samoa and the Cook Islands.
Current and former members also sit on important tribunals and public bodies in Aotearoa New Zealand and abroad.
Instructing a member of Bankside Chambers is straight forward. All members receive and manage their own instructions, so please contact them directly using the details provided on their individual pages. Those pages also contain information about their professional background, experience and practice areas.
Members of Bankside Chambers can be instructed by law firms, in-house counsel and overseas’ lawyers. Whilst some members are able to accept direct instructions from clients, due to professional regulations that is not always possible and an instructing solicitor may be required. Members can advise you on this.
Bankside members practise separately and independently as barristers sole. We are not a law firm or a partnership but, instead, a collection of independent professionals. All members adhere strictly to their professional duties to treat client matters as confidential and to avoid conflicts of interest.
Members share some common resources in Chambers but each has their own self-contained office. Members also have their own computer systems, secure storage, email addresses and contact numbers, which allow them to practice separately from their colleagues.
Social responsibility, including the adoption of sustainable work practices, is an important part of Bankside Chambers. Many of our members regularly act pro bono for their clients. Others are legal aid providers. Bankside members give their time to the legal community and to the community more widely. For example, members take on voluntary roles for many associations and their committees, such as the New Zealand Bar Association, the New Zealand Law Society, the Arbitrators’ and Mediators’ Institute of New Zealand, and the Auckland District Law Society.
Bankside Chambers also supports a number of community initiatives and charities. Most recently, Bankside Chambers established the Bankside Chambers Student Support Fund for law students studying at the University of Auckland. This fund was established to support law students in need, be that social or financial. It has been used in a number of ways, including providing additional counselling services.