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Bryan Gilling
Bryan is an Associate of Rainey Collins and works mainly in the Maori Issues Team. He has been involved in various roles in the litigation and negotiation of historical Treaty claims since 1990. His many different clients have ranged from numerous Maori groups to government departments, the Crown Law Office, the Waitangi Tribunal, the Maori Land Court, and a period as Senior Historian at the Office of Treaty Settlements.
Bryan's extensive experience as one of the leaders in this field has included claim development, research, litigation and negotiation. This background enables him to bring immediate value to clients and to help them achieve solutions to their issues. Clients get the benefits of his in-depth historical knowledge and skill, together with established relationships with all players in the field.
While working as one of New Zealand's foremost professional historians, Bryan taught in several universities, mostly in Maori-Pakeha relations and legal history. He has published 10 books or monographs, nearly four dozen commissioned reports and three dozen articles and book chapters. Amongst these are the official history of the Ombudsman in New Zealand and articles on the Maori Land Court, the Validation Court, raupatu and Maori land issues.
Bryan continues to publish in these fields. Most recently he contributed the overview chapter to Boast and Hill (ed) Raupatu: the Confiscation of Maori Land (VUP, 2009). In 2008, he completed four major research papers on Maori society and land usage as part of an important series on Maori rangatiratanga published by the Treaty of Waitangi Research Unit, Victoria University of Wellington. Bryan was Senior Research Associate on the Unit for many years.
Although his main focus is in historical Treaty claims, Bryan also works in areas relating to Maori governance and wider public law. Another related field is negotiations and litigation in respect of the Foreshore and Seabed Act. Building on his lifelong associations with a range of educational institutions from day care centres to universities. He is also invited to present on Maori issues at legal and historical conferences. Bryan also works in the Education Law field.
A South Islander who drifted north, Bryan is married with a daughter who makes sure he keeps learning.
Qualifications/Professional Memberships/Positions Held:
- Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand
- Wellington District Law Society
- New Zealand Law Society
- LLB - Victoria University of Wellington
- MA (Hons) in History - University of Canterbury
- BTh (Hons) in Church History - Australian College of Theology
- PhD in New Zealand History - University of Waikato
- Diploma of Teaching
- Part-time Teaching Fellow in Maori Land Law, VUW, Faculty of Law, 2009
- Associate Member, Centre for the Interdisciplinary Study of Property Rights, University of Newcastle, NSW
- Former Board Member, Bible College of New Zealand
- LINZ Approved Accredited Supplier - Treaty of Waitangi Claims & Te Ture Whenua Maori Act
- Australia & New Zealand Education Law Association
- Former Senior Research Associate, Treaty of Waitangi Research Unit, Victoria University of Wellington
Contact Information
Phone: (04) 473 6850
Fax: (04) 473 9304
Email: bgilling@raineycollins.co.nz