Māori and Pacific strengths belong in law

Teresa Brown (Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara; Te Roroa; Te Uri o Hau, Neiafu; Vava‘u; Tonga, Fale Ula; Apia; Samoa), grew up watching her mother, Rosie Brown, advocate for their community.

Rosie was the first Samoan and Tongan councillor on Manukau City Council, while Barry Curtis was Mayor. She established the first safe house for Māori and Pacific children experiencing physical and sexual abuse, as well as helping establish the Māngere Community Law Centre.

“I could see my mum actively working for the community. I knew, for myself, that if I got a law degree that it would also really help our people more in a different way,” Teresa says.

Though Rosie passed in 2023, Teresa carries her influence with her, graduating with a Master of Laws (First Class Honours) from Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland, on 24 September, and again on 26 September at Māori Graduation.

“What I remember most fondly is my mother’s combination of staunchness and humour – the ability to have difficult conversations while still connecting with people.

“And I think those are important traits we could use as lawyers; law is about people. It’s about using your people skills and your family experience to help others.”

Teresa’s journey began in Māngere, where she grew up and was raised solely by her mother. As an adult, she reconnected with her Māori whakapapa following the death of her grandfather, while also tracing her Scottish heritage through Clan McClenan and Clan McGregor.

“It’s a common story among our people, but my grandfather was beaten for speaking te reo. He left the North and came to Tāmaki Makaurau where he met my Scottish grandmother," Teresa says.

“I loved being Māori and Moana Oceania. Growing up, I felt really strong in my cultures.”

But even then, she continued to encounter examples of systemic racism throughout her life.

"I'm a proud generation X-er, and I understood difference largely through class, rather than race. It wasn’t about ethnicity back then – we were all poor, really,” she says.

When she and her sister went to Epsom Girls Grammar, the differences became even more evident.

“At that stage, there were only six other brown girls at that school. That’s when I was a minority.”

For the first time, Teresa became aware of the differences between her life and those of her peers – including not having a car, telephone, television or a brand-new uniform.

Those early experiences began to inform her understanding of
inequality and, over time, fuel a career dedicated to advocating for others.

Teresa has spent nearly three decades as a unionist and advocate, and founded her own employment advocacy company, Brown Power. She says her work as a unionist has sharpened her skills in negotiation and communication, while teaching her to think on her feet and build strong relationships with the people and communities she advocates for.

But she had not initially seen those skills as something that could belong in law.

“I honestly thought I wasn’t smart enough. In my head, there was a real perception that I needed to be really smart to be a lawyer.”

Her experience in union organising eventually challenged that perception.
“I think the traits that we have and the experiences that we have are real superpowers, but they aren’t recognised.”

The skills she had developed through delegate training and working with employers and lawyers, were skills she began to recognise as valuable in the legal profession. Being Māori and Pacific, Teresa says it also adds another layer.

“I think we undermine just how important our cultural customs are when it comes to legal professions," Teresa says. “Our people have this sort of, immediate warmth towards others, to help with communication, and not be intimidating. That’s our tikanga, right? That it’s more about relationships than it is about winning and losing.”

Her decision to study law came from wanting justice. She had seen Māori and Pacific workers exploited and wanted another way to advocate for them.

Her university journey gave her the language to understand systemic racism and recognise that experiences she had once thought were hers alone were actually the result of racism and inequity embedded within wider systems.

Her Master of Laws thesis, titled, A Qualitative Study About How We Can Better Understand the Relationships Between Māori and Moana Oceania Law Staff, Students, and the Law School, examines systemic racism within legal education and the impact it can have on Māori and Pacific students’ ability to thrive.

It takes a closer look at the relationships between Māori and Pacific law staff and students, as well as the wider systems and structures that shape their educational experiences.

“Recognising our strengths is part of changing the way Māori and Pacific people are understood within legal education and the profession.

“We’re used to working and walking in two worlds, and if you sort of break it down to your ethnicities, it’s multiple worlds that we walk in.”

Teresa hopes for an unapologetic future for Māori and Pacific students in legal education.

“Māori and Pacific people should not have to leave parts of themselves at the door. Our cultural knowledge, manaakitanga, whanaungatanga, our ability to build relationships – invaluable skills within the legal profession – should be valued and recognised.

“Once the wider legal profession recognises this, that is when real change will happen.”