The office of King's Counsel was established in New Zealand in 1907. It recognises excellence in court advocacy and other outstanding contributions to the law in New Zealand. During the reign of a female sovereign, appointees are called Queen's Counsel. They are also informally called "silks", in reference to office holders being permitted to wear silk robes instead of standard wool and cotton robes and new appointees are described as "taking silk".
Appointments as King's Counsel Appointments in New Zealand are governed by the Lawyers and Conveyancers (Lawyers: King's Counsel) Regulations 2012. They are made by the Governor-General acting on behalf of the sovereign. Recommendations are made by the Attorney-General with concurrence by the Chief Justice. King's Counsel may be appointed at any time. The Attorney-General calls for applications from time to time, generally on annual basis, although ad hoc appointments are also made in special cases - generally in relation to the current Attorney-General or a current or incoming Solicitor-General. The Attorney-General is required to consult with the New Zealand Law Society and the New Zealand Bar Association prior to making a recommendation for appointment.
The Attorney-General, Chris Bishop, announced on 8 May 2026 that an appointment round will be held in 2026. Applications are open from 25 May 2026 and must be submitted by 22 June 2026, with appointments expected to be made in October 2026.
Criteria The criteria for appointment of King’s Counsel are set out in the Guidelines for Candidates, published by Crown Law. The overarching requirement is excellence. Successful candidates possess qualities such as superior knowledge, skill in oral and written advoacy, leadership, contribution to the profession, promoting access to justice, and integrity and honesty. The rank is only available to those practising as barristers sole.
In addition to those practising as barristers who are appointed under the criteria set out in the regulations, the Governor-General is able to appoint King's Counsel under the Royal Prerogative based on their extraordinary contribution to the law. This is often for services to the government such as the Attorney-General, the Solicitor-General, or senior Parliamentary drafters, or for eminent legal academics. The fact that appointment is made under the prerogative is normally referred to in the announcement of the appointment. Unlike the United Kingdom, which has the rank of King's Counsel (Honoris Causa), there is no distinction between those in New Zealand appointed under the standard process and under the "extraordinary contribution" criterion following appointment.
Name of the rank During the reign of a male sovereign, appointees are called King's Counsel, and this applied from 1907 to 1952 during the reign of Edward VII (1907–1910), George V (1910–1936), Edward VIII (1936), and George VI (1936–1952). During Elizabeth II's reign (February 1952 – September 2022), new appointees were called Queen's Counsel. King's Counsel who were living when Elizabeth II became the monarch became Queen's Counsel. Forty-three King's Counsel had been appointed before 1952. When King Charles III ascended the throne on 9 September 2022 (New Zealand time), living Queen's Counsel automatically became King's Counsel.
In 2008, the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act (Lawyers: Senior Counsel and Queen's Counsel) Regulations 2008 were promulgated which provided for the appointment of Senior Counsel instead of Queen's Counsel from 2008 onwards, although existing Queen's Counsel retained the former designation. There was only one round of lawyers appointed as Senior Counsel, in 2008. The rank of Senior Counsel was open to lawyers practising in firms as well as at the Bar. The regulations were revoked and replaced from 1 February 2013 by the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act (Lawyers: Queen’s Counsel) Regulations 2012, which provided for reinstatement of the rank of Queen's Counsel and restriction to those practising at the independent bar. Those who had been appointed Senior Counsel were offered redesignation as Queen's Counsel, and all elected to do so. Those who had been appointed as Senior Counsel while practising in firms were permitted to continue to practise in firms without losing the rank. There were no appointments between 2009 and 2011, and the only apponintments in 2012 were those of the Attorney-General, Chris Finlayson, and the Solicitor-General, Mike Heron. 26 lawyers were appointed to the rank in the 2013 appointment round, which was (and remains) the largest number.
Overview of office holders Following the appointment of the incoming Solicitor-General Anna Adams as King's Counsel in March 2026, there have been 379 warrant holders. Of the 119 years since 1907 (as of 2026), there have been 42 years in which no appointments were made. There were no appointment rounds in 2020 and 2023, both being election years.
The first women appointed to the office were Sian Elias and Lowell Goddard in 1988.
Initial appointees When the first ten appointments were made in June 1907 by Chief Justice Sir Robert Stout, two were from Auckland, four were from Wellington, two were from Christchurch, and two were from Dunedin. The first King's Counsel to die was Thomas Joynt on 5 September 1907, less than three months after his appointment; Joynt had been the senior member of the bar in the country.
List of office holders
The following is a complete list of the office holders. This is based on the list published by the Crown Law Office in May 2023.The list updated in April 2026 included two appointees (Warwick Gendall and Claude Weston) whose names were omitted from the list published by Crown Law in 2023.
Name Portrait Year appointed Location 1907 Auckland 1907 Wellington 1907 Wellington 1907 Wellington 1907 Dunedin 1907 Christchurch 1907 Wellington 1907 Dunedin 1907 Christchurch 1907 Auckland 1910 Dunedin 1911 Auckland 1912 Auckland 1912 Wellington 1912 Wellington 1912 Auckland 1912 Wellington 1913 Christchurch 1913 Christchurch 1915 Dunedin 1919 New Plymouth 1922 Wellington 1925 Auckland 1925 Wellington 1929 Wellington 1930 Dunedin 1930 Wellington 1934 Dunedin 1934 Auckland 1934 Wellington 1934 Wellington 1935Listed in the Crown Law list as 1936, but see KING’S COUNSEL - MR. H. O’LEARY APPOINTED, Wairarapa Daily Times. Wellington 1936 Wellington 1939 Christchurch 1946 Wellington 1946 Auckland 1946 Wellington 1947 Wellington 1947 Auckland 1950 Dunedin 1952 Auckland 1952 Auckland 1952 Auckland 1954 Auckland 1957 Auckland 1957 Wellington 1958 Auckland 1958 Hamilton 1958 Auckland 1961 Wellington 1963 Auckland 1964 Wellington 1964 Auckland 1965 Christchurch 1965 Auckland 1965 Auckland 1966 Wellington 1967 Auckland 1968 Wellington 1968 Auckland 1970 Palmerston North 1970 Auckland 1970 Wellington 1971 Auckland 1971 Christchurch 1971 1973 Auckland 1973 Auckland 1973 1973 Wellington 1973 1973 Christchurch 1974 Hamilton 1974 Auckland 1976 1976 1976 Christchurch 1978 1978 1978 Wellington 1978 Christchurch 1979 Auckland 1979 Auckland 1980 Auckland 1981 1981 Hamilton 1981 Christchurch 1981 Auckland 1981 Auckland 1981 Wellington 1982 Auckland 1983 Hamilton 1983 Auckland 1983 Christchurch 1983 Auckland 1984 Wellington 1984 Wellington 1984 Auckland 1985 Christchurch 1985 Auckland 1985 Auckland 1985 Hamilton 1986 Wellington 1986 Wellington 1986 1986 Auckland 1986 Auckland 1987 Hamilton 1987 Wellington 1987 Auckland 1987 Auckland 1987 Auckland 1987 Wellington 1988 Wellington 1988 Wellington 1988 Auckland 1988 Dunedin 1988 Auckland 1988 1988 Palmerston North 1989 Wellington 1989 New Plymouth 1989 Christchurch 1990 Wellington 1990 Australia 1990 Wellington 1990 Palmerston North 1990 Christchurch 1991 Auckland 1991 Wellington 1991 Wellington 1991 Auckland 1991 Auckland 1991 Christchurch 1992 Auckland 1992 Auckland 1992 Wellington 1993 Hamilton 1993 Wellington 1993 Auckland 1994 Auckland 1994 Auckland 1994 Christchurch 1994 Auckland 1994 Australia 1994 Australia 1994 Australia 1994 Wellington 1995 Christchurch 1995 Auckland 1995 Auckland 1995 Wellington 1995 Auckland 1995 Auckland 1995 Dunedin 1995 Rotorua 1995 Australia 1996 Wellington 1996 Auckland 1996 Wellington 1996 Auckland 1996 Christchurch 1996 Christchurch 1996 Wellington 1996 Auckland 1996 Auckland 1997 Auckland 1997 Whanganui 1997 Hamilton 1997 Auckland 1997 Wellington 1997 Wellington 1997 Wellington 1998 Auckland 1998 Wellington 1998 Wellington 1998 Dunedin 1998 Auckland 1998 Christchurch 1998 Wellington 1998 Auckland 1998 Hamilton 1999 Palmerston North 1999 Auckland 1999 Auckland 1999 Auckland 1999 Wellington 1999 Christchurch 2000 Wellington 2000 Wellington 2000 Wellington 2000 Tauranga 2000 Wellington 2000 Auckland 2000 Auckland 2002 Wellington 2002 Wellington 2002 Auckland 2002 Auckland 2002 Wellington 2002 Auckland 2002 Christchurch 2002 Auckland 2002 Wellington 2003 Auckland 2003 Auckland 2003 Hamilton 2003 Wellington 2004 Auckland 2004 Auckland 2004 Auckland 2004 Wellington 2005 Auckland 2005 Wellington 2005 Auckland 2005 Christchurch 2006 Auckland 2006 Auckland 2007 Wellington 2007 Wellington 2007 Auckland 2007 Auckland 2007 Wellington 2007 Wellington 2007 Hamilton 2007 New Plymouth 2007 Christchurch 2007 Auckland 2007 Wellington 2007 Wellington 2008 Wellington 2008 Auckland 2008 Auckland 2008 Wellington 2008 Auckland 2008 Auckland 2008 Auckland 2012 Wellington 2012 Auckland 2013 Christchurch 2013 Wellington 2013 Wellington 2013 Auckland 2013 Dunedin 2013 Auckland 2013 Napier 2013 Auckland 2013 Auckland 2013 Wellington 2013 Auckland 2013 Wellington 2013 Auckland 2013 Auckland 2013 Auckland 2013 Wellington 2013 Auckland 2013 Auckland 2013 Auckland 2013 Auckland 2013 Wellington 2013 Auckland 2013 Auckland 2013 Christchurch 2013 Auckland 2013 Auckland 2014 Auckland 2014 Auckland 2014 Auckland 2014 Auckland 2014 Auckland 2014 Auckland 2014 Auckland 2014 Christchurch 2014 Christchurch 2014 Dunedin 2014 Auckland 2014 Wellington 2014 Wellington 2014 Wellington 2015 Auckland 2015 Wellington 2015 Wellington 2016 Auckland 2016 Auckland 2016 Auckland 2016 Auckland 2016 Auckland 2016 Auckland 2016 Auckland 2016 Christchurch 2016 Wellington 2016 Wellington 2016 Wellington 2016 Wellington 2017 Auckland 2017 Auckland 2017 Auckland 2017 Auckland 2017 Auckland 2017 Auckland 2017 Auckland 2017 Auckland 2017 Auckland 2017 Auckland 2017 Tauranga 2017 Wellington 2017 Wellington 2018 Auckland 2018 Auckland 2018 Auckland 2018 Auckland 2018 Wellington 2018 Invercargill 2018 Christchurch 2018 Auckland 2018 Dunedin 2018 Christchurch 2019 Auckland 2019 Auckland 2019 Auckland 2019 Auckland 2019 Wellington 2019 Wellington 2019 Dunedin 2019 Rotorua 2021 Auckland 2021 Auckland 2021 Auckland 2021 Auckland 2021 Auckland 2021 Auckland 2021 Wellington 2021 Wellington 2021 Wellington 2021 Christchurch 2022 Northland 2022 Auckland 2022 Auckland 2022 Auckland 2022 Auckland 2022 Auckland 2022 Auckland 2022 Wellington 2022 Christchurch 2022 Christchurch 2023 Auckland 2024 Christchurch 2024 Christchurch 2024 Auckland 2024 Auckland 2024 Auckland 2024 Auckland 2024 Auckland 2024 Auckland 2024 Wellington 2024 Wellington 2024 Wellington 2024 Christchurch 2024 Auckland 2024 Wellington 2024 Wellington 2024 Christchurch 2024 Nelson 2024 Auckland 2024 Auckland 2024 Auckland 2025 Auckland 2025 Auckland 2025 New Plymouth 2025 Wellington 2025 Auckland 2025 Auckland 2025 Gisborne 2025 Auckland 2025 Auckland 2025 Auckland 2025 Wellington 2026 Auckland
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