The Honourable Sir Joe Williams KNZM

Justice Joe Williams has an LLB from the Victoria University of Wellington and an LLM (Hons) from the University of British Columbia. He became a partner at Kensington Swan in 1992 and went on to co-found Walters Williams & Co in 1994. In 1999 he became Chief Judge of the Māori Land Court and was appointed Deputy Chairperson of the Waitangi Tribunal shortly after in 2000. He was made Chairperson of the Waitangi Tribunal in 2004. Justice Williams was appointed a judge of the High Court in September 2008, a judge of the Court of Appeal in February 2018, and a judge of the Supreme Court in May 2019.

Justice Williams’ iwi are Ngati Pūkenga, Waitaha and Tapuika.