Profile
"West Oak’s success has come from always putting our clients’ best interests first and always finding ways to improve and add more value to them"
Andrew mcquiston,
west oak family office, wellington-altus private wealth
With over 30 years of experience in public and administrative law, Mai Chen has an impressive career that has included work with former Prime Ministers; publishing several books on public law; and trailblazing the impact of superdiversity on courts, law and policy. Now a founder and senior partner at Chen Palmer, one of New Zealand’s first boutique law firms, she is considered one of the country’s foremost experts in her field.
Throughout her longstanding career, Chen has handled cases involving the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 and Treaty of Waitangi issues, as well as education, employment and regulatory law, and white-collar fraud. Having emigrated to New Zealand at six-and-a-half years old, she found herself part of the first Taiwanese family in the South Island. She is now chair of the Superdiversity Institute of Law, Policy and Business, and president of New Zealand Asian Lawyers and NZ Asian Leaders, all of which she founded. She recently appeared in the Supreme Court as one of the lawyers on behalf of the NZLS and the judgment of Deng v Zheng [2022] NZSC 76 made comments on how social and cultural considerations can be brought to the attention of the court, noting how the court's comments were “influenced and in part derived from the very helpful submissions made to us by the Law Society”.
She shifted to Auckland from Wellington almost 10 years ago, aiming to plug the gap she saw from a lack of a superdiversity framework in the courts, law, public policy and business. This has been almost a decade of mostly pro bono work for her.
After returning from Harvard Law School with her Master of Laws and a prize for the best Human Rights LLM thesis, Chen began an internship at the International Labour Organization in Geneva, and then become the youngest senior lecturer in law at Victoria University of Wellington. She was a senior associate at Russell McVeagh and then co-founded law firm Chen Palmer in partnership with former New Zealand Prime Minister Rt Hon Sir Geoffrey Palmer, QC – a move she now describes as a “leap of faith,” considering the lack of boutique law firms in New Zealand at the time.
“The biggest challenge was not knowing what would happen, because it had never been done before in Aotearoa,” Chen says. “It required courage to take a leap of faith, particularly because I had come from academia and had never run a firm before. There were no Washington-style law firms in New Zealand specialising in law and policy reform, or in using public law tools of which judicial review was the very last resort.”
“Before starting Chen Palmer, we went to San Francisco to look at their law firms, and we discovered that even the big firms only specialised in just two or three areas of law,” she explains.
“We visited a firm with 175 partners, but it only specialised in immigration and environmental law. We thought the US was 10 years ahead of the law market in New Zealand, and clearly the future was in boutique firms. That gave us the courage to start our own boutique law firm here specialising in public law.”
In addition to running a law firm, Chen is a prolific writer within the legal field. She penned New Zealand’s first practice book on public law, which aims to help the public understand how the Government system works. Chen says that writing Public Law Toolbox was particularly important for her personally, as it provides access to information that might usually be seen as “the preserve of the elite, or for privileged insiders only”.
“A lot of how the New Zealand Government really works was not written down when I published the first and second editions, and so I spent years trying to understand how I could be effective in solving problems within the Government,” Chen says.
“I became an insider in the Wellington beltway, and I wanted to share this information so that outsiders could get accountability from the Government, and also to help those in Government understand their unique responsibilities and vulnerabilities.
“I think it is critical for such knowledge to be shared in a democracy, and it is particularly important for Māori to know. Being Māori requires you to be a public law specialist, as dealing with the Crown requires an understanding and mastery of public policy and legislation. The book sold well and they have asked me to do a new edition – which I haven’t found time to do yet.”
In addition to being named a Most Influential Lawyer 2022, Chen has amassed a long list of accolades throughout her career. These include being placed on the Global Diversity List Top 50 Diversity Figures in Public Life, in the Global Diversity List 2016 (affiliated with the Global Diversity Awards, supported by The Economist), and being a top 10 finalist for New Zealander of the Year in 2014 and 2016. Chen Palmer’s achievements include winning Best Boutique Law Firm in 2010 and Best Public Law Firm at the New Zealand Law Awards from 2007 to 2011.
Chen previously served on the Securities Commission for two terms and spent seven years as a director on the Bank of New Zealand Board. She was also adjunct professor at the School of Business and the law faculty at the University of Auckland for many years.
Level 10, 63 Albert, PO Box 106114, Auckland
021 565 709
Mai.Chen@ChenPalmer.com
linkedin.com/in/mai-chen-8a976a7
chenpalmer.com
Mai Chen
Senior Partner
Chen Palmer
Read on
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Home
Bio
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Milestones
2020–present
Insurance Business Magazine | Key Media
Deputy Principal at Australian Christian College - Southlands
Doctor of Education
2020–present
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2021
Ted Talk in collaboration with key media
Year 7 Community Leader and Leader for Learning Technologies and Platforms at Northern Beaches Christian School
Master of Business Administration, 2017–2019
2021
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2013
Ted Talk in collaboration with key media
Master of Education (Curriculum and Pedagogy)
2013
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Ted Talk in collaboration with key media
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Ted Talk in collaboration with key media
Bachelor of Education (Primary)
2009–2012
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1987-1988
1988
2000
2007-2013
2021
Mai Chen
Senior Partner
Chen Palmer
Read on
Special Report
Home
Bio
Milestones
Profile
Milestones
Insurance Business Magazine | Key Media
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
Ted Talk in collaboration with key media
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
Ted Talk in collaboration with key media
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Ted Talk in collaboration with key media
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Ted Talk in collaboration with key media
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1987-1988
1988
2000
2007- 2013
2016 - 2021
Mai Chen
Senior Partner
Chen Palmer
Read on
Special Report
Home
Bio
Milestones
2007- 2013
2000
1988
1987-1988
2016-2021
Insurance Business Magazine | Key Media
Global Diversity List Top 50 Diversity Figures in Public Life
Ranked Band 2 in Chambers Asia-Pacific Rankings
Top 10 finalist for 2016 New Zealander of the Year
Zonta Woman of the Biennium Award for 2016-2018
Included in NZ LAWYER Leading Woman in the Elite Women List
Included in NZ LAWYER’s Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers 2021
2016-2021
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2007-
2013
Human Resources Magazine | key media
Chen Palmer won the Best Public Law Firm in the New Zealand Law Awards in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 and 2013, and was runner-up in 2012, and
was a 2011 Finalist in Employment Law. Chen Palmer also won the Best
Boutique Firm Category in 2010. Chen Palmer was runner up in the Best Boutique Firm category of the New Zealand Law Awards in 2007 and 2008.
Supreme Judges Panel Award and Professional Excellence Award at the New Zealand Chinese Business Elite Awards 2012
2007- 2013
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2000
Human Resources Magazine | key media
Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Management
Honorary Associate of the Auckland University of Technology
2000
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1988
Human Resources Magazine | key media
Ferguson Human Rights Fellowship; scholarship granted by the Harvard Human Rights Programme to be a Fellow at the International Labour Office in Geneva working on UN Women’s Convention and the ILO Indigenous People’s Convention
Irving Oberman Memorial Award: Best Human Rights thesis at Harvard Law School.
(Topic: Treaty of Waitangi and Māori rights)
1988
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1987-1988
human resources | key media
United States – Frank Knox Memorial Fellowship to study at Harvard Law School
1987-1988
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Milestones
2016-2021
Insurance Business Magazine | Key Media
2021
Included in NZ LAWYER Leading Woman in the Elite Women List
Included in NZ LAWYER’s Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers 2021
2021
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Insurance Business Magazine | Key Media
2017
Zonta Woman of the Biennium Award for 2016-2018
2017
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2016-2021
2017
2020–present
Insurance Business Magazine | Key Media
Deputy Principal at Australian Christian College - Southlands
Doctor of Education
2020–present
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2017
Zonta Woman of the Biennium Award for 2016-2018
2017
2020–present
Insurance Business Magazine | Key Media
Deputy Principal at Australian Christian College - Southlands
Doctor of Education
2020–present
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
2016
Global Diversity List Top 50 Diversity Figures in Public Life
Ranked Band 2 in Chambers Asia-Pacific Rankings
Top 10 finalist for 2016 New Zealander of the Year
2016
2017
2016
Insurance Business Magazine | Key Media
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2017
Zonta Woman of the Biennium Award for 2016-2018
2017
Insurance Business Magazine | Key Media
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
2016
Global Diversity List Top 50 Diversity Figures in Public Life
Ranked Band 2 in Chambers Asia-Pacific Rankings
Top 10 finalist for 2016 New Zealander of the Year
2016
2021
2017