New District Court Judges Leighvi Maynard and Nicola Graham Appointed in NZ
Tags: Chris Bishop Leighvi Maynard Nicola Graham Riki Donnelly Simpson Grierson Burnard Bull & Co Rāwhiti Legal Elvidge and Partners Gisborne Napier
Published: 09 October 2026, 11:50 AM | Views: 38
Attorney-General Hon Chris Bishop has announced the appointment of Leighvi Maynard of Gisborne and Nicola Graham of Napier as District Court Judges.
Mr Maynard began his legal career at Simpson Grierson in Auckland, where he was a member of the firm’s Environment, Planning and Resource Management team.
In 2006 he moved to Gisborne and entered general practice, working across civil, employment, Māori land, family and criminal law jurisdictions before joining the Office of the Crown Solicitor for Rotorua, Taupō and Tokoroa Region as a Crown prosecutor in 2010.
Returning to Gisborne in 2013, he worked at Burnard Bull & Co, before becoming a Partner at that firm in 2015 practising as a criminal defence lawyer and as a member of the Crown prosecution panel for Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay.
In 2016, Mr Maynard joined the independent bar and practised primarily as a senior criminal defence lawyer, while continuing his work on the Crown prosecution panel.
In 2024, he and Gisborne Crown Solicitor, Riki Donnelly, established Rāwhiti Legal to accommodate the return of the Crown Prosecution Warrant to Gisborne. Since then, Mr Maynard has practised as a senior Crown prosecutor and has prosecuted serious criminal cases on behalf of the Crown.
Ms Graham commenced her legal career with Elvidge and Partners, the office of the Crown Solicitor in Napier (and later also Gisborne), working as a crown prosecutor appearing as lead counsel in multiple High Court and District Court criminal trials.
In 2013 she established herself as a sole practitioner at Nicola Graham law in Napier working as defence counsel and was appointed as a Youth Advocate. She is experienced in all aspects of the criminal jurisdiction and in 2017 was appointed as an auditor for Legal Services.
Judge Maynard will be based at the Napier District Court and will be sworn in at a ceremony in Gisborne on 21 November 2026.
Judge Graham will be based at the Hamilton District Court and is due to be sworn in on 14 December 2026.