Nerys Udy
Before joining Thorndon Chambers, Nerys clerked for Chief Justice Winkelmann in the Supreme Court from 2021 to early 2023. During her clerkship, she worked on a wide variety of civil and criminal appeals, alongside extra-judicial work. She also worked as the clerk to the judiciary’s Legislation and Law Reform Committee. Nerys is passionate about the ways in which the law can be used as a community good and enjoys the challenge of legal problem solving. She is interested in a wide range of legal areas, with a particular interest in Treaty issues and indigenous and human rights.
Nerys graduated from the University of Otago with an LLB (Hons)(First Class) and a BA in History and Māori Studies. She was admitted to the Bar in 2021. At Otago, she received the University of Otago Premier Award for Top Humanities Student in a First Degree and the University of Otago Prestige in Law Scholarship. During her time at Otago, Nerys was the President of Te Roopu Whai Pūtake (the Māori Law Students Association).
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Member, New Zealand Bar Association
Member, Te Hunga Roia Māori o Aotearoa
Judge’s Clerk, Supreme Court (2021-2023)
Summer Clerk, Chapman Tripp (2019-2020)
Research Assistant to Ahorangi Professor Jacinta Ruru (2018-2019)
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Natalie Coates and Nerys Udy “The Intersection of the Principle of Legality with Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Tikanga Māori and Indigenous Rights” (NZLS CLE Human Rights Intensive, Wellington, October 2022)
“Conceptualising Mana Wāhine as a Legal Force” (2021) 5 NZWLJ 18 [ADLS Writing Prize winner]
“Executive Governance for Māori Law Student Associations” (Te Hunga Roia Māori Hui-ā-Tau Annual Conference, Christchurch, 2021).
“Te Reo Māori and the Legal Profession” Law Talk, Spring 2021.
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Admitted as a Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court, 2021
LLB(Hons)(First Class), University of Otago
BA (History and Māori Studies), University of Otago
