Sir Mark Leslie Smith Cooper is a New Zealand jurist. He was appointed a High Court judge in 2004, and a judge of the

Court of Appeal An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...

in 2014. He served as president of the Court of Appeal from 2022 to 2024.

Biography

Cooper is of Ngāti Māhanga descent, an iwi of

Waikato Tainui Waikato Tainui, Waikato or Tainui is a group of Māori ''iwi'' based in the Waikato Region, in the western central region of New Zealand's North Island. It is part of the larger Tainui confederation of Polynesian settlers who arrived to New Zeal ...

. He received his tertiary education at the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

, graduating with

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

(

Hons Honours degree has various meanings in the context of different degrees and education systems. Most commonly it refers to a variant of the undergraduate bachelor's degree containing a larger volume of material or a higher standard of study, o ...

) and Magister Juris (Dist) degrees in 1979. After university, he worked for Butler White & Hanna, where he became a partner in 1983; the law firm merged with

Simpson Grierson Simpson Grierson is a New Zealand commercial law firm founded in 1887; it is ranked in the top legal firms in that country, and the largest by headcount. The firm is a partnership comprising 45 partners and consultants supported by around 175 ...

where he remained a partner. From 1997, he practised as a barrister sole. He was principal legal advisor for three Auckland territorial authorities:

Auckland City Council Auckland City Council was the local government authority for Auckland City, New Zealand, from 1989 to 1 November 2010, when it and Auckland's six other city and district councils were amalgamated to form the Auckland Council. It was an elec ...

, North Shore City Council, and Rodney District Council. In the 2000 appointment round, he was appointed

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

alongside six others. In 2004, Cooper was appointed a high court judge by the

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

Margaret Wilson Margaret Anne Wilson (born 20 May 1947) is a New Zealand lawyer, academic and former Labour Party politician. She served as Attorney-General from 1999 to 2005 and Speaker of the House of Representatives from 2005 to 2008, during the Fifth ...

, and sat in Auckland from August that year. Following the

2011 Christchurch earthquake A major earthquake occurred in Christchurch on Tuesday 22 February 2011 at 12:51 p.m. New Zealand Daylight Time, local time (23:51 Coordinated Universal Time, UTC, 21 February). The () earthquake struck the Canterbury Region ...

, Cooper was appointed by the government to chair the Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission; the other commissioners were engineers

Ron Carter Ronald Levin Carter (born May 4, 1937) is an American jazz double bassist. His appearances on 2,221 recording sessions make him the most-recorded jazz bassist in history. He has won three Grammy Awards, and is also a Cello, cellist who has reco ...

and Richard Fenwick. He was appointed a judge of the Court of Appeal in 2014, and was named to replace

Stephen Kós Sir John Stephen Kós (born 23 January 1959) is a New Zealand judge on the Supreme Court of New Zealand and the former President of the Court of Appeal of New Zealand. Early life and career The son of a Hungary, Hungarian refugee, Kós was born ...

as president of the Court of Appeal from 26 April 2022. Cooper was on the executive of the Auckland Division of the Cancer Society of New Zealand. He was on the establishment board for Metrowater, which was formed in 1997 and has since been integrated into

Watercare Services Watercare Services (Watercare) is an infrastructure asset management council-controlled organisation (CCO) that manages the drinking water and wastewater services of the Auckland Region of New Zealand. Watercare is registered with the New Zeal ...

. Cooper was board member for the

Museum of Transport and Technology The Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT) is a transport and technology museum located in Western Springs, Auckland, New Zealand. It is located close to the Western Springs Stadium, Auckland Zoo and the Western Springs Park. The museum has ...

and the Auckland Observatory and Planetarium Trust. On 23 October 2024, Cooper was granted retention of the title "

The Honourable ''The Honourable'' (Commonwealth English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific Style ...

" for life, in recognition of his service as a judge and president of the Court of Appeal and a judge of the High Court. He was succeeded as president of the Court of Appeal by

Christine French Christine Ruth French (born 1958) is a New Zealand lawyer and judge, serving as the president of the Court of Appeal since 21 November 2024. She has been a judge of the Court of Appeal since 2012, having been a judge of the High Court since 200 ...

on 21 November 2024. In the 2025 King’s Birthday Honours, Cooper was appointed a

Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant (document), royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of New Zealand, Queen of New Zealand, "for th ...

, for services to the judiciary.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Mark Living people 20th-century New Zealand lawyers University of Auckland alumni Court of Appeal of New Zealand judges High Court of New Zealand judges Year of birth missing (living people) New Zealand King's Counsel Ngāti Māhanga people New Zealand Māori judges 21st-century New Zealand judges 21st-century New Zealand lawyers Knights Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit

Biography

See also

References