Lawyers spin good yarns but an encounter that Henry Moore’s granny had with one of the world’s greatest rockers takes the coconut.

Henry, who’s full surname is Eisdell-Moore but prefers just Moore, is legal counsel and player services manager at the New Zealand Cricket Players’ Association.

As he tells the story, his grandmother was in Auckland’s Ascot Hospital in 2006 and got chatting to a man in the next room.

Name

Henry Fenwicke Eisdell-Moore

Born

Auckland

Age

34

Entry to law

Graduated LLB and Bachelor of Physical Education from Otago University. Admitted in 2010.

Workplace

Legal counsel and player services manager at the New Zealand Cricket Players’ Association, Auckland.

Speciality area

Sport law.

“She told us about this very lovely man with a lot of tattoos who was interested in New Zealand and in particular Whakatane, where grandma is from,” says Henry. “She said he had a bit of an English accent and was a lovely, lovely bloke.

“A short time later she was watching TV with the family when an item came on about a member of the Rolling Stones being discharged from a New Zealand hospital. ‘There’s the nice man I met in hospital’, grandma said  – pointing to guitarist Keith Richards.”

Richards was in the Auckland hospital for a life-saving operation after falling out of a coconut tree in Fiji. Along with Mick Jagger, the pair are known as the Glimmer Twins.

Henry is the eldest son of High Court Justice Simon Moore QC – described by the then Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias at his 2014 swearing-in as “New Zealand’s first celebrity judge”.

Law is well ingrained in the family.

Before being appointed to the High Court, Simon Moore was senior partner at Meredith Connell and long-time holder of Auckland’s Crown Solicitor warrant.

Henry’s uncle Chris Moore is a past president of the New Zealand Law Society. His brother Edward is a senior solicitor with Simpson Grierson and two cousins are also lawyers.

And it doesn’t stop there.

Henry is engaged to Dunedin-born Pippa Hayward, a prosecutor at Meredith Connell, Justice Moore’s old firm. The couple are expecting their first child in November and plan to marry next March.

Pippa competed with the New Zealand hockey squad at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and was a member of the squad that won gold at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, after which she retired from hockey.

“My mother Jane was charged with bringing up three boys, who were all extremely competitive. We were outside all day and had to be given a gold coin to come inside and read a book.

“I always had an interest in the law through family. As kids we always took an interest in Dad’s cases when he was Crown prosecutor. We used to sneak up to his study and look at old police photo books. They were fascinating.

“I never knew I would practice, but the law was really all I knew growing up.”

Henry recalled his father’s first trial as a judge. “It was a constructive trust case and he asked me if I had my university law notes on constructive trusts lying around.”

Henry’s grandfather, Sir Patrick William Eisdell Moore, was a pioneer in cochlear implants and the first person in the world to perform an eardrum transplant. He was the only pakeha to serve in the 28^th Maori Battalion in World War 2, rising to the rank of captain.

The perfect law job

Henry started a Bachelor in Physical Education at Otago University and didn’t begin law until his second year.

After graduating, he worked for three years in commercial property at Russell McVeagh, in Auckland, which he says was good experience.

The job with the New Zealand Cricket Players’ Association (CPA) came up in 2013. “I have always loved sport and wanted to work in sport. This job seemed like the perfect combination of being involved in sport and equally being able to use my legal skills.”

“There aren’t many jobs in sport and law in New Zealand, and they don’t come up very often. At the time I didn’t know too much about the association or what they did.

“I am basically involved in issue management. Association members are current and past players, and the CPA represents their interests. My role is to assist the current professional players with issue management such as contracts, disciplinary hearings, implementation of the collective agreement we have with New Zealand Cricket, negotiation of collective agreement, ensuring the effective implementation of that collective agreement and that terms and conditions are met.”

He says the easiest way to explain the workings of the CPA is as a union, although it offers a number of services over and above what a union might do, such as personal development programmes.

“It’s easy for people to think – and I was like this too – that sports people get paid millions of dollars and have a long career, come out with a number of houses and won’t have to work for the rest of their lives.

“That is unique - the reality is different. Most of the members we represent will have a career on average of six or seven years, and they all need a career post cricket.

“The personal development programme is designed to support players in personal development, off-field related support, career transitioning, risk management and mental wellbeing. I see that as the most important role the CPA can play.

“We recently negotiated a collective agreement for domestic women players, which is a significant piece of work. There is still a long way to go financially, but it created a contractual framework to be able to represent domestic players.”

The CPA operates as part of the Athletes’ Federation – an umbrella organisation of all professional player associations and most of Henry’s legal work since lockdown has been on returning to train and play scenarios for different sports.

“The federation is a unique setup whereby all player organisations are under the same roof. It is strategically useful because we all deal with the same issues irrespective of the sport so we can all help each other when we need to.”

Henry played cricket at school as a left arm orthodox bowler – “Basically what Dan Vettori did, but not quite as well.”

“That was a hard transition into my role working with a lot of cricketers. Not being a first-class cricketer and talking to players about contracts and representing them you have to been in the grass for long to get that respect.”

From a cricket perspective the season could not have ended at a better time, as far as the coronavirus outbreak is concerned. “Our season finished around the end of March, so we were somewhat okay when it came to a financial impact on the sport, compared to the likes of netball, rugby league and rugby, who were just about to kick off.”

“The challenge is whether with travel restrictions teams can travel here to play. We rely on international cricket being played domestically. The West Indies and Bangladesh were due to play here later this year, but we will have to wait and see.

“I like all sports and have picked up multi-sport in the last five years – kayaking, running and cycling. I’ve done the Coast to Coast a couple of times, including with Justice Paul Davison’s son Tom (right).”

Security reccies

A student exchange to Copenhagen when he finished university in 2009 allowed Henry to see a lot of Europe, and before the lockdown he would travel with his work.

“On behalf of the players I undertake pre-tour security checks for the Black Caps and White Ferns before every overseas tour. I go a couple of months before to ensure the security and facilities are okay before the team travels.

“That’s taken me to the West Indies, Sri Lanka, India and South Africa - probably countries I would not have travelled to otherwise. I do not get much downtime - it’s short and sharp, get in get out, but I have found them fascinating.

“In the last wee while Pippa and I have focused more on travelling around New Zealand, which I have enjoyed the most.

“My favourite spot in New Zealand is Lake Rotoma, where we grew up spending our holidays. You can only get to our place by boat, it is very remote, no TV and limited cellphone. One of those spots where you can properly relax and get away from the phone – and my job involves being on the phone all day, every day.

“I don’t have a reading preference but have been reading Paul Holmes’ Daughters of Erebus. He spends time with Air New Zealand pilot Jim Collins’ wife Maria and his four daughters and takes you through the issues with Erebus. It is written for people with no prior knowledge of the event and is able to articulate and explain the issues very well.

“I enjoy all mainstream music and listen when I run but have no preference for any.”

Not much of a television watcher, except for sports documentaries, Henry has been following a Michael Jordan series The Last Dance, and the drama series Normal People on Netflix.

He bikes to work at Eden Park from Remuera and has a VW Passat, mainly to carry his bike. “I would be so embarrassed if I had a really fancy car or something barely roadworthy.”

“Pippa and I locked down with Dad. Mum has been in Whakatane looking after her mother and we have a roster for cooking, which is good because we all enjoy cooking. Dad has been in his study doing hearings by Zoom, I’ve been downstairs on my computer and Pippa’s been in her legal bunker doing criminal stuff.

“Dinner guests would by Prince Harry - I would like to find out the truth about what’s going on there - and Michael Jordan. I love to cook a New Zealand butterfly leg of lamb roast, with a good Central Otago pinot.

“Other than Lake Rotoma, Central Otago and Wanaka are my favourite areas. Pippa’s family are from Dunedin, and we go down south regularly. A lot of my friends who were lawyers in Auckland have moved to Queenstown to continue law there for lifestyle reasons.

“If I wasn’t a lawyer I would probably be a sports agent, definitely something sports related. Being able to combine my genuine interest in sport with a job would always be something I would want to do.”