Selwyn Times: June 20, 2018

14 Wednesday June 20 2018
Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi
Our People
SELWYN TIMES
Nigel Hampton
Former Leeston resident has a
Leeston born and raised
criminal defence lawyer
Nigel Hampton QC, 73,
has been involved in
the justice system for 53
years. He talks to Julia
Evans about being made
a Companion of the New
Zealand Order of Merit
for his services to the
law, his love of rugby
and some of his most
fascinating cases
Congratulations on the
Queen’s Birthday Honour. How
did it feel to get that under your
belt?
It was a mix of feelings, really.
I’m sort of ambivalent about the
public side of it. Inside you’re
pleased, quietly pleased with
the recognition of it. It was a
surprise. Criminal lawyers don’t
get accolades really. The public
persona is not seen as one of the
most honourable parts of the
profession in a funny way. The
reality is different, but that’s the
public perception sometimes, I’m
afraid.
How did your family react?
They’re pretty pleased, delighted
really. One of my grandsons,
a youngster, made it the theme of
his morning talk at school. That
was quite wonderful in its own
way.
Can you tell me a little bit
about them?
They’re spread around a bit
now. My wife and I, we’ve got a
lot of kids. Three in Canterbury,
one in Auckland, one in
Tauranga, one in Sydney and one
in New York. Ten grandchildren
as well, from ages five to 21.
They’re a good bunch.
Have your children followed
you into law?
No, not directly. One of them
has a law degree, but he’s a
diplomat in New York. Because
of the sort of work I’ve done
most of my life, the criminal
work, a lot of it was not made for
dinner-time discussion. Your
actual cases were not the subject
of discussion, though law and
politics was often the subject of
discussion in the wider sense.
Have you always lived in
Christchurch/Canterbury?
I was born and brought up in
Leeston so primary school in
Leeston, secondary school in
Southbridge and for my last two
years of secondary school I came
into Christchurch. Pretty well
lived in Christchurch ever since
except for a few years in Tonga
when I was the chief justice over
there.
When you’re not in court,
what does a day off look like?
For the last 29 years, we’ve
owned an old farmhouse in
Okains Bay. We used to go there
with the children in the school
holidays. It’s a lovely spot. The
opportunity eventually came for
us to buy the place over there, so
days off are primarily thought of
in terms of that house and some
sailing, land yachting, dragging
nets of flounder, paua gathering,
swimming. All of those things
that are connected with the
house at the beach. We get there
as often as we can. The cellphone
doesn’t work over there, which is
nice. It’s still one of the charms
of those sort of places.
Do you still play rugby?
I played my last game of
rugby when I was 60, so I haven’t
played in a few years now. I’ve
still retained links to and interest
in rugby after having become
part of the rugby judiciary and
chair of the New Zealand Rugby
judiciary. I’ve played a part for
the SANZAAR Super Rugby
competition for the last eight
years or so. I chair their foul play
review committee and also do
judiciary work for world rugby
so I was on call for the first Ireland/Australia
test. If anything
happens, I fly over and conduct
a hearing. It combines a bit of
my passion for rugby and my
passion for justice. When you get
to spend time doing those things
together, it’s a lovely feeling.
What club did you play for?
Initially it was Leeston,
Canterbury Country rugby in
Leeston. Then I took a break for
a while when I made a bit of a
career. When I came back to it,
I played for Canterbury University.
Then for Christchurch and
back to Canterbury University.
There’s some mixed loyalties
there. You form friendships out
of the rugby, as with any sporting
endeavour you enter into.
In terms of your career, how
did you find yourself in law?
Just by default really, in a
funny way. Last year of school, I
knew I didn’t have the necessary
background, my country
education wasn’t strong in
maths and sciences. I’d thought
about medicine. But I did like
and was strong in English and
things literary and I knew that
teaching wasn’t for me. Some
of the others at school had gone
into law and said give it a shot,
PASSION:
Nigel Hampton
working at his
home. PHOTO:
MARTIN
HUNTER
so I did. It developed quite nicely
really. By the time I qualified,
the system was a bit different in
those days, you used to do most
of your study working as a law
clerk. You’d do your lectures
early in the morning before
the start of the work day, and
at the end of the day, after the
work day. Your lectures were
basically between 8am and
9am and from 5pm until 8pm.
By the time you finished your
degree and qualified, you had
quite an amount of practical
hands-on experience. By sitting
in the back of the court as your
employers would allow you,
you’d observe cases being tried,
you’d observe lawyers in action
and absorb by osmosis quite a
lot of information and hopefully
skill of how to do things. So
once you got there yourself,
the expectation was that by
osmosis you would have learnt
something and you’d be thrown
in the deep end, hopefully you’d
swim.
Winter
Driving
Icy roads