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The Law Foundation congratulates Jack Alexander who has been awarded the Cleary Memorial Prize for 2019. Jack is currently an Associate at Gilbert/Walker. Prior to this, he was a Judges’ Clerk in the Court of Appeal. He ranked third in his graduating class and was awarded a Senior Scholarship in law at the University of Auckland.

In addition to his academic success, Jack has spent time demonstrating leadership and service within his community. Whilst at university Jack spent three years volunteering with the Equal Justice Project, a student-run organisation improving access to justice in New Zealand. He was also appointed student representative to the Legal Research Foundation and in 2015 and 2016, led a Pro Bono team, co-ordinating research on cases involving human rights and access to justice issues.

With academic work published in eight peer-reviewed journals on a variety of areas of law, Jack hopes to pursue his academic interests with postgraduate study in the United Kingdom, undertaking research on how the law responds to clauses in contracts which purport to exclude or limit the liability of one of the parties.

The Cleary Memorial Prize is awarded in memory of Sir Timothy Cleary, past President of both the Wellington District and New Zealand Law Societies, and a Judge of the Court of Appeal. This prize, worth $5,000, is awarded annually by the Law Foundation to a young barrister or solicitor who shows future promise in the legal profession.

Congratulations to Jack – we will watch his career with great interest!