Emma Priest Email & Phone Number

Blackstone Chambers

I am a specialist criminal barrister admitted to the Bar in 1999. I appear on all criminal matters with a focus on serious crime, jury trials, appeals and parole board hearings. I have over 20 years experience in the criminal law, working as both a Crown prosecutor and a defence lawyer. I act for people facing charges from traffic to serious violence, dishonesty, sexual crime and murder. My strengths are: o Tenacious and effective advocacy; o Approachable- relates well with… Show more I am a specialist criminal barrister admitted to the Bar in 1999. I appear on all criminal matters with a focus on serious crime, jury trials, appeals and parole board hearings. I have over 20 years experience in the criminal law, working as both a Crown prosecutor and a defence lawyer. I act for people facing charges from traffic to serious violence, dishonesty, sexual crime and murder. My strengths are: o Tenacious and effective advocacy; o Approachable- relates well with clients; o Exemplary written submissions and research skills; o Great time and file management skills with a focus on communication; o Passionate lawyer with great energy and love of the criminal law. Please contact me with direct instructions privately and as a legal aid provider (Criminal PAL3-4, Court of Appeal/ Supreme Court). Full details of my experience is available on my website: www.emmapriest.co.nz.In addition to my core practice, I enjoy teaching. I am a facilitator for NZLS, Stepping Up, leading the barristers component of the Course; faculty member for the NZLS National Litigation Skills Programme and NZLS National Jury Trial Training facilitator. I am also a speaker for College of Law; NZLS; CBA and Legalwise; NZLS representative at Justice Sector and key stakeholder meetings. I was the Criminal Law representative appointed to the NZLS Culture Change Taskforce and I am a a stakeholder representative for the NZLS at the Auckland District Court. I have been a member of the NZBA criminal law committee since 2021. I have been the convener of the ADLS Parole Law committee since 1999 and was also a member of the ADLS Criminal Law committee from 1999-2023.I am newly elected to the CBA executive (2023) and look forward to making change in the areas of legal aid, prisoner rights and court process generally. I am a published opinion writer for the New Zealand Herald on current criminal justice issues. I am a co-founder of Blackstone Chambers in Auckalnd, set up in 2016. Show less

New Zealand

Worked in collaboration with Actionstep to develop the Criminal Barrister App as an offering for Actionstep. The app includes:- Workflows through the criminal justice, appeal and parole processes including tasks at each stage;- Specialist case information and charge information;- Custom time-recording for criminal justice;- Over 40 auto populating templates frequently used in criminal law including correspondence, representation notices and disclsoure requests, plea by… Show more Worked in collaboration with Actionstep to develop the Criminal Barrister App as an offering for Actionstep. The app includes:- Workflows through the criminal justice, appeal and parole processes including tasks at each stage;- Specialist case information and charge information;- Custom time-recording for criminal justice;- Over 40 auto populating templates frequently used in criminal law including correspondence, representation notices and disclsoure requests, plea by notice, CMM, TCM, intituling, appeals, bails applications and variations, submissions, appeals and affidavits. - bespoke folders for criminal barristers.When I went out as a specialist criminal barrister, I noticed that criminal barristers were at a significant technical disadvantage in comparison to the Crown who had their own bespoke client and document management systems. I approached Actionstep to undertake this project because they were cloud based with New Zealand servers. They also had the ability to integrate client, document and time management with commonly used google and microsoft programmes. As trusted providers of cloud based services to New Zealand government, Data sovereignty and security were guaranteed. I undertook this work pro-bono in order to have access to the tools I needed to run my practice efficiently. I remain a consultant on an ongoing basis, providing updates as a result of law changes, changes to court generated notices and generally to ensure the application remains current. Show less

New Zealand

Director on the Board of Variety New Zealand, the Children's Charity. Variety New Zealand provides desperately-needed targeted and individualised assistance to sick, disabled and disadvantaged Kiwi children. Variety is a worldwide organisation with 43 offices across 13 countries. https://www.variety.org.nz/about-us/our-people/board-of-directors/

New Zealand

o Management of properties;o Tenant management; o Planning and project managing renovations; o Body corporate management.

Manukau/ Auckland

o Legal advice and counsel in serious criminal matters (category 3 & 4/ indictable pre- CPA 2011);o Team leader managing and coaching staff;o Facilitator of in-house legal training;o Working at Manukau and Auckland offices.

Auckland

o Conducted hundreds of District and High Court indictable prosecutions including high profile drug, sexual and violent crime; o Working with experts in areas such as voice identification, accounting, physical child abuse, sexual abuse, banking, drugs (cannabis, methamphetamine, cocaine), handwriting, facial recognition, fingerprints, DNA, blood spatter, ECL (computer and digital evidence), mobile phones (calls and text messaging) and envelope manufacture.o Prosecuted across a range of… Show more o Conducted hundreds of District and High Court indictable prosecutions including high profile drug, sexual and violent crime; o Working with experts in areas such as voice identification, accounting, physical child abuse, sexual abuse, banking, drugs (cannabis, methamphetamine, cocaine), handwriting, facial recognition, fingerprints, DNA, blood spatter, ECL (computer and digital evidence), mobile phones (calls and text messaging) and envelope manufacture.o Prosecuted across a range of regulatory prosecutions on behalf of almost all government departments and the New Zealand police;o Appeared as both junior, senior and sole Crown Counsel in over 50 Jury and Judge alone trials ranging from 1 day to 3 months over my 11 years as a trial advocate;o Appearing at bail hearings and on Appeals;o File holder for Department of Internal Affairs (prosecutions for possession, creation and distribution of objectionable material);o Senior member of the trial preparation team for 5 years. I have drafted indictments and prepared files in hundreds of criminal prosecutions. This team determined charges to be laid, criminal disclosure, dealt with early resolution; liaised with police, experts, forensic staff and trial prosecutors to prepare files for trial.o Mentor to younger staff. I have also mentored on a volunteer basis in a non-legal environment;o Conducted training for legal staff, police and expert witnesses. I have also facilitated meetings and training in a not-for-profit setting. Show less

Auckland, New Zealand

o Junior Property lawyero Conveyancing, trusts, property transactionso Company resolutions and gifting advice.

• Law Clerk to Queen’s Counsel and Deputy Chair of the Refugee Status Appeals Authority;• Tasked with preparing training for decision makers on the Authority;• Analysing decisions to create a legal database;• Assisting with drafting briefs for judicial review applications

Master Of Laws (Llm) (1St Class Honours), Law, A

Master of Laws including Forensic Science papers taken through the Chemistry Post-Graduate department. Dissertation on a Restorative.

Bachelor Of Laws (Llb), Law, A- Average

Bachelor Of Arts (B.A.), Psychology, A Average

Education record

Activities and Societies: Sporting Colours (Rowing; Hockey)