A special sitting of the Employment Court will be held in Auckland on Friday 7 July 2017 at 4pm to farewell Chief Judge Graeme Colgan after over 28 years as a Judge of the Employment Court and its predecessor, the Labour Court.

After graduating LLB(Hons) from the University of Auckland he was admitted as a barrister and solicitor in 1976 and practised in general litigation, especially in employment, family and criminal law as a partner in a firm specialising in industrial relations.

Chief Judge Colgan became a barrister sole in 1987 and was appointed a Judge of the Labour Court in 1989 when aged 35. He was and remains the youngest appointee to the specialist employment courts since their establishment in 1894.

He was appointed Chief Judge in 2005 and is now the longest-serving Judge of that Court and its predecessors.

Employment Court Judge Christina Inglis says Chief Judge Colgan's unstinting commitment and valuable contribution to the Court over the years is to be recognised at the special ceremonial sitting.