- Hon Judith Collins KC
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of two new District Court Judges.
The appointees, who will take up their roles in April and May at the Palmerston North and Nelson Courts, are:
Prudence McGuire
Ms McGuire is a Rotorua based barrister. Her legal career began following admission to the bar in 1992, after which she joined LW Goodman in Palmerston North. She was then a staff solicitor and later Associate at Wollerman Cooke McClure in Carterton.
In 2001, having moved to Rotorua, she joined Davys Burton. She became a partner in 2005 and during that period was a Crown and Senior Crown Prosecutor. Ms McGuire established herself as a barrister sole in 2008 and has represented clients in both family and criminal court matters since that time.
She is a present member of the Family Law Section Advisory Panel, a Mental Health Advocate and Lawyer for Child.
Judge McGuire will be based at the Palmerston North District Court and will be sworn in on 21 April 2026.
Christopher Macklin
Mr Macklin is a Nelson based barrister with extensive criminal and regulatory litigation experience. He was admitted to the bar in 2006 and following a brief period at Russell McVeagh, he joined Gordon and Pilditch, the Office of the Crown Solicitor in Rotorua. He was an associate at that firm between 2010 and 2013, after which he became a partner. He was designated as a Principal Crown Prosecutor during the later period of his time with this firm.
He left to set up practice as a barrister in 2023 and since that time has been based in Nelson, although most of his practice work takes place elsewhere. He was also the convenor of the NZLS Criminal Law Committee until recently.
Judge Macklin will be based at the Nelson District Court and will be sworn in on 15 May 2026.
