Remembering Catherine Callaghan KC
Fellow alumna Joanna Silver (LLB 1996) and members of the Faculty of Law pay tribute to their esteemed friend and colleague Catherine Callaghan.
It is with deep sadness that we mark the passing of Catherine Callaghan KC, a distinguished alumna of Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington. Catherine’s career spanned countries and legal systems, yet her roots and values stayed firmly anchored in Aotearoa. She died on 13 August 2025, aged 54, after a long illness.
Catherine devoted her life to the law, with a rare mix of intellect, humanity, and deep integrity. While her passing leaves a void in both the British and New Zealand legal communities, she set an enduring example that will guide and inspire advocates for years to come.
Catherine completed a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws (with Honours) at Victoria University and quickly stood out as one of the top talents of her cohort. She showed sharp academic ability combined with genuine curiosity about how the law works, winning mooting competitions and tutoring students with the generosity and clarity that became her hallmark. Many law graduates from the University can trace their early confidence to her support and encouragement during those formative years.
After graduating from Victoria, Catherine completed a Master of Laws at the University of Cambridge, ranking first in her year. She then worked as a solicitor for Clifford Chance in London, practicing public international law.
Driven by a desire to address social causes and help others, Catherine requalified as a barrister and in 2000 completed a pupillage at Blackstone Chambers, a leading chambers in the heart of Temple, London. There she quickly established herself as a formidable advocate, regularly acting for the United Kingdom Government, regulatory bodies, and claimants in the Administrative Court, Court of Appeal, and Supreme Court.
In 2007, Catherine took a sabbatical in New Zealand, serving as a visiting lecturer in Public Law and Comparative Human Rights Law at Victoria University (working alongside Professor Tony Smith), and as Crown Counsel for the Crown Law Office.
She returned to London to continue her career at Blackstone Chambers, becoming a member of the Attorney General’s A Panel of counsel from 2013 to 2018.
In 2018, Catherine ‘took silk’—becoming Queen’s Counsel and the first New Zealand female barrister to receive this honour. The following year, she was appointed a judicial member of the Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitral Tribunal, selected from across the Commonwealth to serve as the United Kingdom’s representatives.
Despite her global career, Catherine carried her Kiwi identity close. She raised funds for Christchurch earthquake victims and participated in the Relay for Life for the Cancer Society in memory of her father, Sir Paul Callaghan. After addressing students at the Faculty of Law in 2023, she contributed an article to the Victoria University of Wellington Law Review reflecting on “life as a Kiwi at the English Bar”.
Catherine was admired for her intelligence and clarity of thought. She loved the thrill of a cross-examination that caused a case to turn and the intellectual interchange between bench and counsel. Clients praised her as being “very clever and delightful to work with” and noted her ability to “get into the detail … very quickly.”
On a more personal note, Catherine was a deeply loyal and treasured friend, often hosting visiting Kiwis with her beloved husband Andreas Gledhill (a KC at Blackstone Chambers) at their home in the Cotswolds. She is remembered fondly by a network of legal and non-legal friends across the globe as blindingly intelligent, witty, curious, kind, elegant, courageous, determined, generous, and inspiring.
Catherine continued to have close ties to Victoria University throughout her life. Her passing is deeply felt at the Faculty of Law, says Professor Dean Knight and Professor Nicole Moreham.
Catherine made an extraordinary mark not only in Wellington but also as a leading KC in London. Her path is a reminder that hard work can build not just a distinguished career, but a meaningful one.
Professor Dean Knight and Professor Nicole Moreham