Renée Riddell-Garner Email & Phone Number

Wellington, New Zealand

Wellington & Wairarapa, New Zealand

I am an experienced barrister, operating mainly in the public, corporate and regulatory areas.

Wellington & Wairarapa, New Zealand

Specialising in public, corporate and governance law

Wellington, New Zealand

In this role, I was responsible for leading the legal team and acting as Chief Executive/Registrar on occasion. My work included:• providing advice on public and corporate law issues • implementing proper decision-making practices, and guiding the Board through decision-making • delivering a statutory complaints and discipline service, including a disciplinary tribunal• drafting secondary legislation • managing OIA and privacy law service delivery, including dealing with complaints and breaches• delivering the Board’s court prosecution function • delivering staff training.

Wellington

Practising law in the parliamentary environment taught me about how the public sector works in a way I doubt I would have learnt anywhere else. My work included:• providing advice on public and corporate law matters • working as legal advisor to the Regulations Review Committee (Parliament’s specialist secondary legislation select committee)• advising select committees• drafting members’ bills• managing whole of office projects • delivering training to staff and MPs.

Wellington

I worked in the Māori issues team: • conducting Tiriti o Waitangi litigation• working on other Māori issues.

Wellington

I was in the specialist litigation team (with a 100% litigation success rate) and also provided any other public and corporate legal services required. My work included:• delivering legal advice on, and services for, a wide range of public law and corporate matters• litigating health and safety, immigration and employment cases • advising on responses to official information and privacy requests, and complaints to the Ombudsmen.

Wellington

This was my first core public sector role. My role was in the Ministry’s public law business group, developing policy with a legal focus. My duties included:• developing policy in relation to MMP• drafting ministerial briefings and my first (and only) departmental report• working with a select committee• reviewing the Ministry’s Charging Guidelines for Official Information Act 1982 Requests.

Dunedin

I was responsible for leading, advocating for, and delivering services to the student body of Otago University. Two years before I was President, I had been Education and Welfare Vice President, during which time I set up the Student Advocacy Centre, which is still in operation today, now as the Student Support Centre. At the end of my presidency, I took on a teaching fellow contract for the University and established a Student Learning Centre.