Chris Finlayson

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Christopher Finlayson (born 1956) is a New Zealand lawyer, politician and Member of Parliament, representing the National Party.

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[edit] Early life

Finlayson grew up in Wellington, and was educated at St. Patrick's College, Wellington. Finlayson graduated with a BA in Latin and French and a Masters Degree in Law LLM) from Victoria University of Wellington and has practiced law in Wellington for a number of years. He has also had a part-time teaching role at Victoria University of Wellington. Finlayson has been heavily involved in the arts community. He chaired Creative New Zealand's Arts Board from 1998 to 2001, and is currently a trustee of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. His particular interests are theatre and music.

[edit] Legal background

Finlayson was admitted to the Bar as a barrister and solicitor in February 1981. He was a partner in Brandon Brookfield from 1986 to 1990 and then in Bell Gully from 1991 to 2003.

Since his admission, Finlayson has appeared in all courts of New Zealand, including seven appearances before the Privy Council, including as counsel for the New Zealand Bar Association in Harley v McDonald [2001] 2 WLR 1749 and counsel for the British Government in Attorney-General for England and Wales v R (a decision of the Privy Council delivered on 17 March 2003). He also has extensive experience appearing before tribunals and local authorities in New Zealand.

Finlayson has had significant experience teaching in the Law Faculty of Victoria University of Wellington. Since 1987 he has taught civil procedure for LLB, conflict of laws both for LLB and for LLM, intellectual property for LLB (Hons) and ethics for LLB.

He has served as Law Society representative on the New Zealand Council of Law Reporting from 1990 until 1998 and the New Zealand Council of Legal Education from 1992 until 1998. Finlayson is currently a Law Society representative on the High Court Rules Committee.

Finlayson is a co-author of McGechan on Procedure, the leading New Zealand text on the practice and procedure of the courts of New Zealand and was the founding editor of the Procedure Reports of New Zealand. He has written papers on many subjects, including intellectual property, litigation and conflicts of interest and has presented New Zealand Law Society seminars on High Court practice, conflicts of interest and limitation.

[edit] Member of Parliament

Parl. Electorate List Pos. Party
48th List 27 National

Finlayson joined the National Party in 1974, while still at St Patrick's College. He stood as National's candidate for the Mana electorate in the 2005 elections, and was also ranked twenty-seventh on National's party list, making him the second most highly ranked National candidate who was not already an MP. While he failed to win Mana, losing by a margin of 6,734 votes[1], the National Party polled well on party votes and Finlayson was elected via the party list. Upon his election, he was appointed shadow attorney general by then leader Don Brash.

[edit] Caucus Responsibilities

  • Shadow Attorney-General
  • Treaty Negotiations
  • Arts, Culture & Heritage

[edit] Parliamentary Committees

  • Deputy Chairman, Justice and Electoral Select Committee

[edit] Rank

Initially ranked 27 on the Party List, Finlayson was promoted to 18th in the first Caucus ranking after the 2005 General Election.

Following the election of John Key as Leader, Finlayson was promoted to the Shadow Cabinet and placed at 14 in the Caucus rankings.

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Official Count Results -- Mana. Electoral Commission (1 October 2005). Retrieved on 2007-12-30.
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