Edmund Thomas

He educated at Fielding Agricultural High School and Victoria University of Wellington graduating with a BA and LLB in 1956. He was admitted to the bar as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court (later the High Court) of New Zealand. Following many years as a partner at New Zealand Law firm Russell McVeagh, he became a barrister sole and was appointed a QC in 1981. In 1989-1990 he was President of the New Zealand Bar Association, and in 1990 he was appointed to the bench of the High Court of New Zealand. In 1995 he was elevated to the Court of Appeal. He retired from the appellate bench in 2001. As a judge some saw him as a proponent of judicial activism. He was also noted for his frequent dissenting judgements, particularly...