Presenters

Kelly Dixon, Partner, Dixon and Co Lawyers
Kelly has almost 20 years’ experience and has appeared in the High Court, the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court on judicial review proceedings, in the District Court on commercial summary judgment proceedings, before the Employment Relations Authority and in the Māori Land Court and before the Waitangi Tribunal on behalf of various Treaty of Waitangi claimants. Kelly works with clients from across the North Island and has appeared before the Waitangi Tribunal in the Wairarapa, East Coast, National Park, Whanganui and Northland historic Inquiries and various Urgency Applications and Kaupapa Inquiries and Remedies Hearing before the Waitangi Tribunal. Kelly is a member of the Property Law Section, Resource Management Law Association, and the Māori Law Society. Kelly will oversee many of the firms’ property/conveyancing transactions. Kylee is a contributing author of Multicultural Lawyering, Navigating the Culture of the Law, the Lawyer and the Client K E O’Leary and M Martin-Scott (2021). She has also presented to the Community Law Waikato and the University of Waikato.


Bernadette Roka Arapere, Barrister, Kōkiri Chambers
Bernadette is Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga, Ngāti Tūwharetoa and Ngāti Maniapoto. She is a barrister specialising in Public and Administrative Law, Civil litigation, Te Tiriti o Waitangi and Māori legal issues, whenua and governance matters. She has been senior counsel in the courts at all levels including the Supreme Court in judicial review proceedings, appeals, and other general litigation including Waitangi Tribunal proceedings. She is a Commissioner of the Transport Accident Investigation Commission, a Deputy Chair of the Teachers' Disciplinary Tribunal, a Trustee of Raukawa ki te Tonga Trust and a member of the Legislation Design and Advisory Committee and Māori Land Court Rules Committee. Prior to joining the independent bar, Bernadette was Crown Counsel in Public Law at Crown Law and in private practice. She speaks Te Reo Māori and has authentic knowledge of tikanga Māori working at her marae - amorangi ki mua, hāpai ō ki muri.