Funding fuels fresh thinking in law

What can New Zealand’s justice system learn from Indigenous approaches to trauma? How can exploited migrant workers get better access to justice? And how can lawyers better navigate complex situations?

These are among the questions University of Auckland alumni Nicole Johnston, Dhilum Nightingale and Deborah Manning will explore with support from the Michael and Suzanne Borrin Foundation.

Nicole Johnston, an Auckland Law School Master of Laws graduate, will use a $10,000 Travel and Learning Award to learn from experts in trauma-informed justice in Canada.

Nicole will meet with experts and advocates for trauma-informed and trauma-responsive practice, and observe courtrooms and justice spaces that apply these principles.

She’s particularly interested in Indigenous understandings of trauma and what it looks like to be culturally responsive within the justice system.

She hopes to incorporate what she learns into future projects in Aotearoa.

“I’m incredibly excited for this opportunity to deepen my understanding of trauma and culturally responsive practice in the justice system and connect with other like-minded humans. I cannot thank the Borrin Foundation enough for this support.”

Nicole also hopes to begin a PhD in 2027 focused on trauma-informed principles and education for justice professionals.  

Dhilum Nightingale, who holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) from Auckland Law School, has also received a $10,000 Travel and Learning Award. The funds will support her work to improve protections for migrant workers.

The Wellington-based barrister, researcher and migrant rights advocate has more than 25 years’ legal experience and has spent the past seven years providing frontline advocacy and legal support in migrant exploitation cases.

Her award will help to develop implementation and engagement work arising from her Borrin Foundation-funded report, Migrant Exploitation in Aotearoa New Zealand: Improving Employer Accountability, which examines systemic barriers to justice for exploited migrant workers and identifies practical pathways for reform.

"Migrant workers continue to experience exploitation, while too many employers avoid meaningful accountability," says Dhilum. "The grant enables me to advance practical reforms through grassroots advocacy and community engagement, while learning from successful approaches in comparable jurisdictions.”

She will work with government agencies, community law centres, migrant advocacy organisations and frontline practitioners around New Zealand, alongside comparative learning with advocacy organisations, policy experts and reform leaders overseas.

The work will focus on improving frontline legal support, strengthening community-led education, increasing awareness of the Migrant Exploitation Protection Work Visa and improving evidence collection.

Dhilum is also the founder of VERI-Mi Charitable Trust, which has developed a free multilingual website and app to help migrant workers understand their employment rights and securely record evidence of exploitation.  

Deborah Manning, a University of Auckland Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws (Hons) graduate, has received a $50,000 Women Leaders in Law Fellowship. This will help her develop and test a transdisciplinary framework for professional judgment and practice for New Zealand lawyers.

Building on more than 25 years of legal practice, teaching and supervision, the barrister at Landmark Chambers and senior lecturer at AUT, intends to develop practical concepts and approaches that help lawyers navigate complexity while promoting both good practice and wellbeing.

Her project has its roots in her own experience.

"Early in my career I learned how much the law can gain from other disciplines. This Fellowship provides a rare opportunity to translate those insights into legal practice, strengthening professional judgment, supporting sustainable practice, and improving outcomes for clients.”

She aims to develop practical concepts, language and approaches that strengthen professional judgment while supporting good practice and wellbeing.