Meet the legal team
We are a specialist team of lawyers practicing in criminal and traffic law. This means that the manpower and expertise we throw into your case best ensures successful progress through your prosecution to the happiest result.
The logic here is simple – several minds are better than one. Many man-hours have been put into building the knowledge-base and assembling the team necessary to overcome the intimidating hurdles you face. It’s really no surprise that in order to get a good job done, you need an organisation that has the right team, the research capacity and all manner of other resources. Defending a prosecution puts you up against the strength of the state, so you need our own ‘Swat Team’ to even out the odds.
Our long involvement in our field means that we can access everything from qualified medical opinions and independent blood examinations to other scientific and forensic firepower as and when needed. In short our great investment in people and resources improves your odds in escaping the worst that the justice system can throw at you.
Samira Taghavi
Barrister & Practice Manager
Sami holds a Masters degree in Criminal Law from the University of Auckland, criminal defence work having been her ambition since childhood, growing up with a father who was a criminal defence lawyer and later a judge. Sami’s tremendous work ethic, gift for strategy and computer-like memory mean that our clients’ best interests are constantly being carefully supervised. While employed as a barrister working under Patrick, Sami’s successes also span other levels of the criminal justice system. For instance, Sami has been triumphant in fighting intended restrictions on individual rights and freedoms within the criminal court system. Her tenacity in lobbying against government proposals earned her the nickname “Bulldog” from a former government minister. She is a member of the Auckland District Law Society and the New Zealand Law Society.
Patrick Winkler
Director
With over twenty five years experience in his field, Patrick has been the ‘go-to guy’ for countless clients who have wanted the remorseless tenacity that makes all the difference. Patrick is not only interested in getting the best results under the existing law for our clients but also in making the existing law way better than it is. To this end Patrick has devoted serious investment to several law reform efforts. Patrick has been invited to be a witness before government select committees on five occasions and his submissions have led the government to abandon proposed restrictions on individual rights and freedoms. Patrick is a member of several professional associations including the Criminal Bar Association and the New Zealand Law Society.
Jessica Doughty
Employed Barrister
Jessica graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Otago in 2020 and was admitted as a barrister and solicitor in March 2021. Jessica has a long-held passion for the law and joined ActiveLegal upon her admission to the Bar. While at university, Jessica also undertook a Bachelor of Science degree majoring in Psychology, which qualification enhances a combined skillset that is well suited to the challenges often presented in criminal law cases. Jessica is a member of the New Zealand Law Society.
Nina Kim
Employed Barrister
Nina graduated with a conjoint bachelor’s degree in Law and Psychology from the University of Auckland in 2023 and was admitted as a barrister and solicitor in early 2024. Nina has been working with the ActiveLegal team since April 2023 as a law clerk, having previously interned with the Police Prosecution Service. She is passionate about Criminal Law and using her knowledge to help others in need. While educated entirely in New Zealand, Nina also has ability in the Korean language. She is a member of the New Zealand Law Society and the Law Association.
Eric Chen
Barrister
Eric (Cangjie) brings to ActiveLegal, his invaluable experience as a former police officer and prosecutor. Now on the ‘dark side of the force’, the intimate understandings from his time as a traffic/motorways officer, sexual-assault team member, police sergeant and Auckland District Court prosecutor, mean that clients benefit from a repository of police-procedural knowledge and the unwritten practical learnings known to ‘insiders’. Eric also previously spent time working in an immigration practice, which broadens his ability to help with criminal charges that have immigration-status implications. He is a member of the New Zealand and the Auckland District Law Societies and is fluent in both English and Mandarin Chinese.
陈仓颉（Eric)，带着他作为前警官和检察官的宝贵经验加入ActiveLegal 团队。他在担任交通/高速公路警员、性侵犯团队成员、警务长和奥克兰地方法院检察官时，获得了丰富的阅历和宝贵的经验。这意味着，客户们可以受益于他对警务程序的知识宝库以及之前在新西兰“体制内”知道的实际经验。Eric之前还在移民机构工作过，这拓宽了他帮助处理涉及移民身份问题的刑事指控的能力。他是新西兰和奥克兰地方法院法学会的成员，能流利地使用英语和中文。
Sami holds a Masters degree in Criminal Law from the University of Auckland, criminal defence work having been her ambition since childhood, growing up with a father who was a criminal defence lawyer and later a judge. Sami’s tremendous work ethic, gift for strategy and computer-like memory mean that our clients’ best interests are constantly being carefully supervised. While employed as a barrister working under Patrick, Sami’s successes also span other levels of the criminal justice system. For instance, Sami has been triumphant in fighting intended restrictions on individual rights and freedoms within the criminal court system. Her tenacity in lobbying against government proposals earned her the nickname “Bulldog” from a former government minister. She is a member of the Auckland District Law Society and the New Zealand Law Society.
With over twenty years experience in his field, Patrick has been the ‘go-to guy’ for countless clients who have wanted the remorseless tenacity that makes all the difference. Patrick is not only interested in getting the best results under the existing law for our clients but also in making the existing law way better than it is. To this end Patrick has devoted serious investment to several law reform efforts. Patrick has been invited to be a witness before government select committees on five occasions and his submissions have led the government to abandon proposed restrictions on individual rights and freedoms. Patrick is a member of several professional associations including the Criminal Bar Association and the New Zealand Law Society.
Jessica graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Otago in 2020 and was admitted as a barrister and solicitor in March 2021. Jessica has a long-held passion for the law and joined ActiveLegal upon her admission to the Bar. While at university, Jessica also undertook a Bachelor of Science degree majoring in Psychology, which qualification enhances a combined skillset that is well suited to the challenges often presented in criminal law cases. Jessica is a member of the New Zealand Law Society
Eric (Cangjie) brings to ActiveLegal, his invaluable experience as a former police officer and prosecutor. Now on the ‘dark side of the force’, the intimate understandings from his time as a traffic/motorways officer, sexual-assault team member, police sergeant and Auckland District Court prosecutor, mean that clients benefit from a repository of police-procedural knowledge and the unwritten practical learnings known to ‘insiders’. Eric also previously spent time working in an immigration practice, which broadens his ability to help with criminal charges that have immigration-status implications. He is a member of the New Zealand and the Auckland District Law Societies and is fluent in both English and Mandarin Chinese.
陈仓颉（Eric)，带着他作为前警官和检察官的宝贵经验加入ActiveLegal 团队。他在担任交通/高速公路警员、性侵犯团队成员、警务长和奥克兰地方法院检察官时，获得了丰富的阅历和宝贵的经验。这意味着，客户们可以受益于他对警务程序的知识宝库以及之前在新西兰“体制内”知道的实际经验。Eric之前还在移民机构工作过，这拓宽了他帮助处理涉及移民身份问题的刑事指控的能力。他是新西兰和奥克兰地方法院法学会的成员，能流利地使用英语和中文。
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