Max Harris
Max Harris is a barrister and door tenant at Thorndon Chambers, having recently returned to legal work following a number of years in policy, campaigns, academia, and writing. Since returning to legal practice, Max has appeared as counsel (and made oral submissions) in the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, High Court, District Court, and Coroners Court. He has also presented briefs of evidence in the Waitangi Tribunal.
Max has experience in academia and public writing. He was an Examination Fellow in Law at All Souls College at the University of Oxford, where he completed a DPhil in constitutional law on the prerogative and third source. He completed BCL (with Distinction) and Master of Public Policy degrees at the University of Oxford as a New Zealand Rhodes Scholar. While at the University of Oxford he tutored philosophy of human rights, taught law for public policy, and participated in (and developed) an education programme at Grendon Prison.
He previously graduated from the University of Auckland with a BA/LLB(Hons.) degree. At the University of Auckland he was Senior Scholar in Law and Political Studies, and Editor-in-Chief of the Auckland University Law Review. His academic work has been published in, among other places, the European Human Rights Law Review, the Journal of Contract Law, and the New Zealand Universities Law Review. He is co-editor of two books on the legal contributions of Dame Sian Elias and Bruce Harris, and author of the book The New Zealand Project. He tutored tort law at Victoria University of Wellington while clerk to Chief Justice Elias at the Supreme Court.
Max has worked as a campaigner and policy researcher, and has a longstanding interest in and commitment to progressive politics. He continues to work part-time for ActionStation (in particular, on a project called Dental for All) though the majority of his time is now dedicated to work as a barrister. He has authored policy reports on housing policy and a Ministry of Green Works, worked as an economic policy advisor to Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell in the UK Parliament, and was a consultant to the United Nations Development Programme in New York.
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Max has a particular interest in public law – including administrative law, the law on the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990, and Te Tiriti o Waitangi – and also has experience working on criminal law, tort law, and employment law.
A sample of some recent cases in which Max has been involved are below:
Decision of Coroner B Windley as to Scope of Issues for Inquiry in Inquiries into the deaths of 51 people in relation to the 15 March 2019 Christchurch Masjidain Attack
A successful Court of Appeal criminal appeal involving questions of fitness, foetal alcohol spectrum disorder, and the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 (issues of name suppression pending)
New Zealand Independent Community Pharmacy Group v Hutt Valley District Health Board (High Court matter involving administrative law and Te Tiriti o Waitangi issues), decision forthcoming
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Books
(ed, with Sam Bookman, Edward Willis, and Hanna Wilberg) Pragmatism, Principle, and Power in Common Law Constitutional Systems: Essays in Honour of Bruce Harris (Intersentia, 2022)
(ed, with Simon Mount QC) The Promise of Law: Essays marking the retirement of Dame Sian Elias as Chief Justice of New Zealand (LexisNexis, 2019)
The New Zealand Project (Bridget Williams Books, 2017)
Articles (sample, full publication list available on request)
‘Showcase – New Directions in Administrative Law Theory: The Prerogative, The Third Source, and Administrative Law Theory’, Int’l J Const Law Blog, 13 September 2019, at http://www.iconnectblog.com/2019/09/showcase-new-directions-in-administrative-law-theory-the-prerogative-the-third-source-and-administrative-law-theory/
‘Is New Zealand Law Ready for a Marbury v Madison Moment?’ (2012) 25 New Zealand Universities Law Review 210
‘Fairness and Remoteness of Damage in Contract Law: A Lexical Ordering Approach’ (2011) 28 Journal of Contract Law 122
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DPhil (Oxford), supervised by Professor Paul Craig
BCL (Distinction), MPP (Oxford)
BA/LLB(Hons.) (Auckland)
