Presenters

Jacinda Younger, Principal, Jacinda Younger
Jacinda has been in practice since 1998, initially in general practice before specialising in criminal law as a barrister in 2001. Her practice began in Whanganui, then adding an office in Palmerston North where she stayed after the legal aid changes a decade ago. She is a PAL4 qualified legal aid provider and regularly appears in homicide, jury trial and appellant matters. Jacinda considers her strength as being a strategic thinker and that this probably developed over the last 27 years juggling a law practice, training her dressage stallion from a foal to Grand Prix (Olympic level) dressage (also a NZ first), running a busy horse stud and raising two girls who she also trains in dressage and who are national dressage champions in their own right now. " We must strategically think forward not only in our own practices in criminal defence law, but also at the wider issues of the direction our Justice System is taking, to continue to serve the vulnerable systemically disadvantaged clients not just knowledge but also humanity". Jacinda now starts to focus on the state of the Justice System in it's seemingly unjust changes in law recently and the ever diminishing population of senior trial lawyers qualified to do PAL3 and 4 Jury Trials. These concerns are amplified for her as her own daughter heads to Victoria Law school in 2026 wanting to follow in her mother's footsteps and specialise in criminal defence law.

James Skinner, Director, Skinners Law
James Skinner is an experienced civil litigator who has represented a wide range of clients, from individuals to companies and councils across New Zealand. He has acted in disputes regarding leaky buildings and many other types of construction cases, trusts and estates, commercial, company, property, insolvency and debt recovery, employment, sports appeals, driving offences, and some criminal charges. Over his career, James has assisted clients on all sides of a dispute, including building contractors and homeowners, employers and employees, creditors and debtors, suppliers and customers, landlords and tenants, business owners, and sports professionals. James also has extensive mediation experience. James also offers his services as an independent mediator to parties involved in disputes throughout New Zealand. James is an associate member of the Arbitrators’ and Mediators’ Institute of New Zealand and is passionate about alternative dispute resolution.