Judge Michael Doogan was appointed to the Māori Land Court on 25 January 2013.
Based in Wellington, he provides support for hearings in the Aotea District of the Māori Land Court and hears cases in Taumarunui, Tūrangi, Palmerston North and Porirua.
Judge Doogan graduated from Massey University with a Bachelor of Arts in 1983 going onto graduate with a Bachelor of Law from the University of Otago in 1986. He commenced work as a Judges’ clerk in Hamilton in 1986 and worked in private practice and in local government in Wellington before moving to England in 1990. Between 1990 and 1995 he worked in private practice in England before returning to New Zealand to take up a position in the Public Law team with Simpson Grierson in Wellington. In 1998 he joined the Crown Law Office’s Treaty Issues and International Law Team.
In 2005 Judge Doogan commenced practise as a barrister sole in Wellington. As a barrister, Judge Doogan represented a range of Māori clients before the Courts and the Waitangi Tribunal.