James Crichton joined Three60 Consult as a Barrister and Employment Law Specialist in August 2019. He is available for investigations, legal opinions, mediations, and to provide employment relations advice.
James was appointed Chief of the Employment Relations Authority in August 2015. He had been a Member of the Authority since September 2004, based, for the first seven years in Christchurch and since 2011, in Auckland. Before his appointment to the Authority, his varied career included a period working in the ports industry as a senior manager, a period as chief executive of a local authority, and a lengthy involvement in governance in the health sector. He was variously a trustee of a private hospital trust, a member of a Crown Health Enterprise Advisory Committee, a director of a Crown Health Enterprise and a member of a district health board.
As a practising lawyer for the twenty years prior to his appointment to the Authority, James specialised in employment law and alternative dispute resolution, looking after clients in a range of industries including health, but also accepted engagement as a statutory intervener under the Education Act, acting as commissioner or limited statutory manager of four state schools.
