Solicitor - Auckland
Sophie Vreeburg
About
Sophie is involved with complex resource management prosecutions as well as environmental enforcement proceedings. She appears regularly as Crown counsel in the District and Environment Court acting on a wide range of matters for government departments and local government clients. She also prosecutes criminal matters, and assists with criminal appeals in the High Court and Court of Appeal.
Prior to joining MC, Sophie worked in the legal division of New Zealand’s foreign ministry and conducted research for both international and domestic tribunals tasked with the protection of Indigenous Peoples’ rights. She was also the director of a pro bono charity.
Sophie currently leads the advocacy team of the New Zealand Women’s Law Journal - Te Aho Kawe Kaupapa Ture a ngā Wāhine.
Recent Cases & Achievements
Sophie’s Honours dissertation for her law degree looked at the Crown’s obligations to obtain the free, prior and informed consent of Māori in the context of freshwater governance.
Sophie’s final research paper for her Global Studies degree analysed the concepts of independence, indigeneity and self-determination in the context of the decolonisation of New Caledonia. Sophie’s paper was awarded the top mark in the graduating cohort and was published in Auckland University’s Nomad Journal.
As part of her role with the New Zealand Women’s Law Journal, Sophie makes regular submissions before Parliament Select Committees on feminist legal issues
Credentials
LLB(Hons)/BGlobalSt, University of Auckland (Waipapa Taumata Rau)