Dunedin barrister Melinda Broek has been appointed as a District Court Judge with Family Court jurisdiction to be based in Rotorua, Attorney-General David Parker has announced.

Judge Broek has iwi affiliations to Ngai Tai. She commenced her employment in 1996 with Scholefield Cockroft Lloyd in Invercargill specialising in family and criminal law where she worked until 2002, although taking leave for a year to work in London.

From 2002 to 2004 she worked for Walker Restieaux in Invercargill practising most aspects of litigation before returning to London to work for a borough council in child protection work. During that time she also clerked school admissions and exclusions hearings providing advice to lay members on evidential and other legal issues.

Between 2005 and 2008 Judge Broek was the borough council’s mental health lead solicitor. From 2008 to 2013 she worked for Sharon Stark Lont in Dunedin, primarily in family law. Since 2013 she has been a barrister sole specialising in family law.

Judge Broek will be sworn in on 23 June 2020 in Dunedin.