Just over 20 years ago, Gisborne senior Crown prosecutor Leighvi Maynard was the first in his family to attend university. This month he will be sworn in as a District Court judge.
Maynard is one of two new District Court judges appointed by Attorney-General Chris Bishop on October 9.
Speaking to the Gisborne Herald, Maynard (Ngāti Porou, Rongowhakaata, Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki) said he was “humbled” at the appointment and “nervous, but excited” for his new role.
“The older I’ve got, the more capable I felt to do it, and because of all the time I [have] spent in court I get to see what an impact good judges can have on a community. And yeah, that was something I was pretty interested in.”
He spent his early life living with his grandparents in Gisborne, and they were “probably the most significant influence”.
His father’s role as a Navy gunner moved his parents around often and Maynard joined them periodically.
Maynard attended Hawke’s Bay boarding school Te Aute College. The school has significant alumni such as Sir Āpirana Ngata and Whatarangi Winiata.
Maynard described the experience as “difficult at times but really influential”.
“It taught me independence,” he said. “Some of my best experiences come from that period of my life.”
Maynard joined the Air Force after leaving school, staying for two and a half years, then enrolling in law school. He completed his Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Te Reo Māori at the University of Auckland in 2003 and was admitted to the bar in 2004.
In his early years of study, he struggled with bouts of self-doubt.
“I think I was the first person in my family to go to uni, to finish college even, and I didn’t know any lawyers or judges or professional people even,” he said.
“There was always a bit of like, ‘I wonder if I can do this’ ... heaps of the way through law school I was convinced that I wouldn’t be able to get through and that someone’s going to walk in and be like: ‘Ah, sorry mate’.
“It wasn’t until maybe my second to last year that I thought: ‘Oh, maybe I can do this’.”
Maynard started his legal career at Auckland’s Simpson Grierson before returning to Gisborne in 2006. He worked in general practice at Woodward Crisp, then joined Rishworth Wall & Mathieson.
Working with “leading criminal lawyers at the time” - Doug Rishworth and Phil Dreifuss - had a “big impact” on the young Maynard.
“I’d look and most of the good court lawyers were middle-aged Pākehā guys with booming voices, and I would try to change how I spoke,” he said.
“Guys like Doug Rishworth and Phil Dreifuss taught me that to properly be effective you just have to be yourself, like in a professional way … that’s what I’m most proud of ... what I’ve done as a lawyer, I’ve done my way.”
In 2010, he joined the Office of the Crown Solicitor for Rotorua, Taupō and Tokoroa as a Crown prosecutor. In 2013 he joined Gisborne firm Burnard Bull & Co, where he became a partner in 2015 and specialised in criminal defence. At the same time, he joined the Crown prosecution panel for Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne.
He became a senior criminal defence lawyer and joined the independent bar in 2016.
Maynard and fellow lawyer Riki Donnelly (now Crown Solicitor) established Rawhiti Legal in 2024 to bring a Crown Solicitor’s warrant back to Gisborne.
It was the first time Gisborne had a locally based Crown Solicitor since 2006.
Maynard has worked as a senior Crown prosecutor ever since on serious criminal cases.
Just over 20 years later, the father of three said the new role had made him “feel like a young lawyer again”. When asked what he was most proud of in his career, he said it was that “I’ve been able to do it without compromising myself”.
“I’ve been able to be respectful of people and empathetic to the different situations of people that you’re dealing with – from criminal defendants who have alleged to have done really serious things, to police officers you deal with, and most recently to victims of serious crime and sexual violence ... just trying to translate for them what’s happening in court in a human way that allows them to understand and feel like they’re part of that process … that’s something I’m proud [of].
“I feel like I have done it in a way that people feel like they’ve been respected and listened to, and that’s something that I hope to try to translate into this role as well.”
Maynard said there were “real advantages” to going to law school and being from a community like Gisborne.
“It doesn’t matter what your background is or what deficiencies you might perceive in yourself, if you’re willing to work hard and be consistent, you can go to law school and do all of these things.
“There’s a community of lawyers here who are willing to help you realise whatever dreams you have in that space.”
Judge Maynard will be sworn in on November 21 in Gisborne and will be based at Napier District Court.