Tiana Epati Photo: E-tangata/Linkedin/Tiana Epati
Becoming King's Counsel (KC) is one of the highest honours in the legal profession, with fewer than 370 lawyers in Aotearoa having ever held the title.
So when Tiana Epati received a call from the Attorney-General, it marked another defining moment in her distinguished legal career.
"To be called by the Attorney-General and told personally that she was recommending me for King's Counsel with the concurrence of the Chief Justice… that's the sort of official wording," Epati said.
"It's the highest acknowledgement that one can receive from both the legal profession, the judiciary and, I suppose, the Attorney-General, representing the government, all at one time."
The path to KC is notoriously demanding.
"So, you put an application in, meet the criteria, which is excellence and leadership and integrity and commitment to access to justice. There's a whole set of criteria that you have to meet…"
"But then the legal profession, the judiciary and beyond is consulted by both the Law Society and the Bar Association as to who meets the criteria," Epati said.
With upwards of 20 years experience in law, the honour reflects an ongoing journey for Epati, one that began in Samoa.
"I grew up in Samoa. My dad is Samoan, he had grown up in the village of Saleimoa and won a scholarship to study in New Zealand, so he became a lawyer.
Epati said the inspiration for her career in the law was pretty clear.
"I watched my dad, first as a lawyer in Samoa, help his own people and his community, and give back."
Epati's family had moved to Aotearoa when she was ten.
Tiana Epati with her dad A'e'au Semi Epati, a pioneering Samoan who was New Zealand's first judge of Pacific Island descent. Photo: Supplied
Her father, A'e'au Semi Epati, would go on to become the first Pacific judge in Aotearoa, working across Tāmaki as a barrister.
"People would come to him in a really difficult, stressful, chaotic state, and he would say, 'I know how to fix this.' And that's an incredibly privileged and powerful thing to be able to do," Epati said.
That sense of purpose stuck with Epati, who graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws (BA/LLB) in 2000.
"It's just the problem solving, you know? The fact is, if you don't know your legal rights, you can't protect your job, your family, your house, your person, your freedoms - and knowledge is power," Epati said.
Her legal work has spanned both prosecution and defence, often in the High Court and above.
"I deal in public law, anything to do with the state being involved," she explained.
"These days, I work a lot as counsel to assist the court. That means that I work independently of parties to help the courts find justice or find truth in a particular case."
In 2019, Epati was elected president of the New Zealand Law Society, becoming the first Pasifika person and just the fourth woman to hold the role in its 152-year history.
"I think I was the president at the right time," Epati said. "We had to go through a lot of challenges. It was COVID. I then had a baby halfway through. So I was the first president to give birth while in office."
"There's no playbook, so you've just got to write one as you go."
She credits both her father and pioneering women in law as key influences, particularly Dame Sian Elias.
"My dad called me to tell me that the Chief Justice was a woman, the first woman ever to be appointed, and her name is Dame Sian Elias," she said.
"She became this beacon of hope… alongside my dad, that there was a place for me in the legal profession. And I can remember even saying to him, 'Oh, let's also pretend she's Samoan!,' You know, it was just so incredible."
Epati added that it is important to see versions of yourself reflected in the mahi you do.
"I think when you find someone who looks even a little bit like you, or has been a mum as well as juggling it all, you just think, okay, it's possible for me. I can dream a bit bigger, I can aim a bit higher."
She had previously said that ambition is a collective success.
"It won't mean anything if all it was, is that one time we had that brown girl as president. There has to be more," Epati said.
Remaining grounded in who she is has been central to her mahi.
"I've always stayed true to who I am, and that's the girl who grew up in Samoa and came to New Zealand on a plane at the age of 10," she said. "That's whakapapa, who you are, and it always remains with you."
Tiana Epati Photo: E-tangata/Linkedin/Tiana Epati
That perspective, Epati said, has served her especially well in criminal law.
"It's helped me a lot… just [to] have a better understanding of the human condition. The criminal justice process hasn't always been particularly sensitive to culture or understanding different contexts. I like to see it as a bit of a bridge builder… I can understand people better when I serve as their lawyer."
In terms of what lies ahead, Epati's ambitions are now grounded in something simpler: balance.
"That baby that I had while president was my third, and so, yeah, just better balance in life," she laughed.
"I enjoy the work that I do. A lot of it sits in the High Court and above. I'm off to the Supreme Court next, which is just so rewarding.
"I don't really feel the need to have any other big projects. I just want to be happy in my work and my life, and yeah, I feel like I'm getting the balance about right."
Her message to all New Zealanders looking to forge a legal career is that you matter.
"I would say, feel the fear and do it anyway," Epati said.
"It's perfectly natural to get imposter syndrome… I came to this country on a plane as a 10-year-old from a small Pacific island nation, and totally felt like I didn't even belong in New Zealand society.
"But once you get up there, that's forever. I just say to people it's perfectly natural to feel afraid… but feel it anyway, and just do it. Just have the courage to push a little bit, because you never know."
