Rhianna returned to Kāhui Legal in February 2025, having previously worked for the firm from 2021 to 2023.
Rhianna holds a conjoint Bachelor of Laws (First Class Hons) and Arts (majoring in Political Science and International Relations, with a minor in Philosophy) from Te Herenga Waka | Victoria University of Wellington. She was named on the Dean’s List for Academic Excellence multiple times and received top in class for Māori Customary Law, International Climate Change Law and Policy and Regulating Labour and Work. In 2024, Rhianna was awarded the Cleary Memorial Prize – a prestigious award given to a young barrister or solicitor who shows outstanding future promise in the legal profession.
Her motivation in studying and practising law is firmly rooted in the words of Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Turuki – mā te ture anō te ture e āki, for only the law can correct the law. During her studies, Rhianna won the Māori Law Review’s “Sir Edward Taihakurei Durie Student Essay Competition” with her essay on the Supreme Court’s interpretive approach to tikanga Māori in Ngāi Tai Ki Tāmaki Tribal Trust v Minister of Conservation [2018] NZSC 122. Her essay was published in the Māori Law Review. Following this, she has published several academic articles in the Victoria University Law Review, Māori Law Review and New Zealand Women’s Law Journal. Rhianna has also co-authored a book chapter on Māori governance and the Exclusive Economic Zone published in Waking the Taniwha: Māori Governance in the 21st Century.
Outside of work, Rhianna is one of the Deputy Editors of the New Zealand Women’s Law Journal and was elected as the Young Lawyer Representative on Te Hunga Rōia Māori o Aotearoa | the Māori Law Society.
Rhianna specialises in civil litigation and public law, with experience acting for iwi and public sector clients. In particular, she acted for a large iwi on issues arising out of their Deed of Settlement with the Crown and has advised public sector clients on matters relevant to their legislative and regulatory framework (including the Education and Training Act and the Crown Entities Act). Prior to returning to Kāhui Legal, Rhianna was a litigation lawyer at a large national law firm in Te Whanganui-a-Tara | Wellington.
