Bridgette Toy-Cronin (Lead National Researcher) completed a LLB(Hons) and BA at the University of Auckland, an LLM at Harvard University, and PhD at the University of Otago. Her doctoral thesis examined self-representation by litigants in the New Zealand civil courts. Bridgette is Director of the University of Otago Legal Issues Centre, a centre which undertakes research on access to justice with the goal of working towards a justice system that is accessible, affordable, efficient, fair and just for all New Zealanders. She is also a Senior Lecturer in the University of Otago Faculty of Law teaching on access to justice and the legal profession. Her research has an empirical focus, investigating access to justice, the legal profession, judging, dispute resolution, and civil procedure.
LOCAL RESEARCHERS - NEW ZEALAND
Allie Cunninghame was a Professional Practice Fellow at the UOLIC until April 2020, when she was appointed as a coroner, sitting in Dunedin. Allie has 10 years’ experience as a litigator in a large New Zealand firm, focused mainly on insurance and insolvency litigation, and health and safety law. Allie is interested in access to justice, change and innovation within the legal profession, and diversity. At the UOLIC Allie led projects investigating areas of innovation and reform to make legal services more efficient and cost effective, and therefore more accessible. She holds a BA(Hons) in English and an LLB from the University of Otago, and was admitted as a Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand in 2008.
Bridget Irvine was formerly a UOLIC Postdoctoral Fellow until becoming a prosecutor at the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries in late 2019. Bridget’s research interests include access to justice, courtroom procedures, quality of legal evidence, and legal decision-making processes. She studied law and psychology at the University of Otago, and completed her PhD in psychology in 2016. Bridget is strongly interested in applied research, including the harnessing of social science to benefit the legal profession. Her PhD research investigated the circumstances under which a brief ‘preparation for court’ intervention could help children accurately respond to cross-examination questions in the courtroom.
David Turner is Professional Practice Fellow, University of Otago Legal Issues Centre, and currently is exploring ways to improve access to good legal information to support people in their pathways to justice. He is developing a national hub to support public benefit providers of online legal information. David holds a BA (Hons) in History and an LLB from the University of Otago. He worked in professional regulation for over 10 years, first at the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants, and then at Singapore’s Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority. He joined the Legal Issues Centre in January 2019.