Education Legal Team

The team

The Education Team is led by Marina Matthews, Senior Associate, and overseen by Mai Chen, Founding Partner.  The Education Team includes:

To discuss how the Education Legal Team may be of assistance to you or your organisation, please contact either Mai Chen (04 499 8990) or Marina Matthews (04 894 1782).

Our expertise

Chen Palmer has a team of public lawyers specialising in education policy, funding and legal frameworks ranging from universities to kohanga reo.

  • Tertiary Education Organisations  -   We have acted for all types of tertiary education organisations including private training establishments, industry training organisations, wananga, universities,  institutes of technology  and polytechnics.                                                       
  • Working with New Zealand Qualifications Authority – Some of the NZQA processes that Chen Palmer can assist clients with include External Evaluation and Review processes and the Targeted Review of Qualification.
  • Working with the Tertiary Education Commission – Chen Palmer has experience in providing clients with assistance on many aspects of TEC’s work, including Investment Plans, mergers, and education performance indicators.
  • Working with Maori and Pasifika – Chen Palmer has worked for many Maori education organisations including wananga, kohanga reo and kura kaupapa.  We also specialise in providing advice on Pasifika education issues.
  • Working with other education sectors – Chen Palmer can assist  clients across the education spectrum including matters relating to secondary-tertiary transitions, Youth Guarantee; National Standards, Export Education and Immigration New Zealand; governance appointments on Tertiary Education Institution boards; and the early childhood education curriculum, Te Whariki. 

Previous work

Some of the previous work of the Chen Palmer Education Team includes:

  • Advising tertiary education organisations on mergers including Auckland Insitute of Technology becoming AUT University; Wellington Polytechnic merging with Massey University; and Dunedin College of Education merging with teh University of Otago.
  • Representing successful claimants in Waitangi Tribunal proceedings concerning the Crown's intervention at Te Wananga o Aotearoa.
  • Appearing for Unitec in the High Court and Court of Appeal regarding their bid to become a university.
  • Advising on the Office of the Auditor-General inquiry into Te Wananga o Aotearoa.

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