Kerryn Beaton KC
King’s Counsel | Criminal Defence Lawyer | Christchurch.
I was admitted to the Bar in 1995 and have over 25 years legal experience. My practice has a particular focus on criminal cases involving abuse and vulnerable people, and on commissions of inquiry. I act for clients charged with the most serious offences including murder, and am a criminal and civil legal aid provider. In 2021 I was appointed a Queen’s Counsel, now King’s Counsel.
I have conducted many complex jury trials in the High Court and District Court, both as a senior Crown prosecutor and since 2012 as defence counsel. I have appeared in the Court of Appeal and High Court on numerous criminal appeals both for the Crown and the defence.
I was the first Deputy Public Defender for Christchurch, with responsibility for setting up the regional Public Defence Service including training and leading a large team of lawyers.
My experience also includes being appointed in three major inquiries - from 2011-12 as counsel assisting the Pike River Royal Commission; from 2014-16 as a legal officer in the United Nations Khmer Rouge investigations in Cambodia; and from 2019-24 as senior counsel assisting New Zealand’s Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. I act for interested parties in coronial inquiries.
I am a member of the Panel of Specialist Advisors to Te Kāhui Tātari Ture, the Criminal Cases Review Commission, and am appointed by the Secretary of Justice as a Legal Aid Auditor under the Legal Services Act 2011. I teach advocacy skills to junior lawyers, and regularly present seminars on criminal law issues. I am currently a member of the NZLS Access to Justice Committe and the NZ Bar Association Criminal Law Committee.
In 2018 a colleague and I co-founded Walker Street Chambers in Christchurch, which has grown into a substantial chambers with 17 barristers and associated forensic experts. Barristers at Walker Street Chambers provide legal advice and court representation to clients around the country.
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CONTACT:
Email :: kerryn@beaton.co.nz
Work :: 036617000
Mobile :: 021351820
Office :: Walker Street Chambers,
40 Walker Street, Christchurch