Mary Hill
Barrister
Mary Hill is a specialist resource management barrister with over 25 years’ experience. She advises both private and local government clients on all aspects of resource management and environmental law and has led several novel cases in the Supreme Court. She appears at all levels of our court system.
Mary has chaired panels under the COVID-19 Recovery (Fast-track Consenting) Act 2020 and the Fast-track Approvals Act 2024, including the Drury Metropolitan Centre and the Tauranga Northern Link Motorway (Stage 2).
Mary is a former President of the Resource Management Law Association and sits on the New Zealand Law Society's Environmental Committee. She has a particular interest in resource management reform.
Sound Advice - Making Your Evidence Heard
Acoustic experts are often required to make the complex simple. In courtroom environments the pressure can come on. The rules can be unfamiliar and unforgiving, especially to those trained in science not law. Mary's presentation offers practical guidance for mastering the Environment Court, local authority hearings, and fast-track consenting processes. She will provide first-hand insights into both the craft and strategy behind persuading a decision maker without compromising professional integrity. A particular focus is the fine but critical line between expert witness and advocate. Understanding where that line sits, and how to say on the right side of it, can be make or break for you and your client. Mary will also examine the evolving role of experts in conferencing, mediation processes and fast-track processes. How to engage constructively with opposing experts, narrow the issues in dispute, and produce joint statements that genuinely assist the decision-maker. Finally, we will look ahead. With resource management system reform reshaping the regulatory landscape, what does this mean for the role of technical experts? Tune in for some tales from the trenches along the way.