Experience

Scott graduated from Victoria University with a LLB (Hons) and a BA in 2017, receiving the Victoria Medal for Academic Excellence. He clerked for the Honourable Justice Forrie Miller in the Court of Appeal, and was then a junior barrister in a leading set of chambers. Scott joined the independent bar as a barrister sole in 2022 and joined Woodward Chambers in 2024.

Scott works in all areas of civil litigation, with a particular focus on trust and estates law, public law, and Treaty law. He has worked on a diverse range of cases, including litigation about a child's right to start school, the number of Himalayan Tahr permitted on conservation land, and veteran's rights to compensation.

Scott acts for individuals, hapū, government departments, trustees, companies, and NGOs. Scott adopts a reasoned, pragmatic approach to achieve the best results for his clients. As well as taking cases to court, Scott also regularly assists clients with negotiations and mediations, and prefers to help clients settle litigation where possible. Scott has also presented seminars on a range of legal topics and written a number of academic articles for legal journals.

Scott is a member of the New Zealand Law Society's Public and Administrative Law Committee, helping the Law Society prepare submissions on constitutional and public law matters to government and appearing for the Law Society before Parliament's Select Committees.

Scott accepts instructions both as lead counsel and to junior to senior counsel. He regularly assists senior counsel with a diverse range of complex litigation.

Contact Scott

Recent Cases

Scott has argued cases in the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court, as well as several other courts and tribunals. Some notable recent cases include:

Hata v Attorney-General [2025] NZHC 519

acted for a hapū seeking declarations concerning its relationship with the Crown and a post-governance settlement entity

Re Galvin Whakapoungakau 15 B 10 (2025) 329 Waiariki MB 206 (329 WAR 206)

acted for a charitable trust, successfully defending allegations of improper use of Māori whenua

Whakatōhea Kotahitanga Waka (Edwards) v Te Kāhui [2024] NZSC 164, [2024] 1 NZLR 857; [2025] NZSC 104

acted for a hapū in the first customary marine title case to reach the Supreme Court

Kingsbeer v Okey [2024] NZHC 2323

acted for a landowner who successfully sought removal of a longstanding easement permitting road access over their land

Martin v Martin [2024] NZHC 147

acted for a wife who, having separated from her husband, successfully sought their replacement as trustees of their family trust

Veterans' Affairs v Gardiner [2023] NZHC 1897; [2025] NZHC 2479

junior counsel assisting responding to a Crown appeal over the proper benefits payable to a veteran, Tā Wira Gardiner

Pennell v Carter [2022] NZHC 3094

acted for two trustees who successfully sought orders regularising their position after their appointment was discovered to be invalid

Fitzgerald v R [2021] NZSC 131, [2021] 1 NZLR 551

junior counsel for the Human Rights Commission in the leading case on interpreting statutes in light of the Bill of Rights Act, focusing on the human rights consistency of the three-strikes legislation

Scott has also recently:

acted in litigation concerning Crown minerals
advised a home-owner whose property had been damaged by flooding, helping them to secure a settlement
advised trustees on potential litigation to recover trust funds
assisted a client in a mediation to resolve longstanding relationship property and trust issues
acted as counsel in a trial defending a beneficiary of a will from allegations of undue influence