Anna Adams KC was called to the Inner Bar at a special court sitting in Auckland on Friday 1 May 2026. The ceremony was attended by over 200 people including the Attorney-General Hon Chris Bishop, Acting Solicitor General Aaron Martin, immediate past Attorney-General, Hon Judith Collins KC, along with Anna’s family, friends, and colleagues from Bankside.
Anna was appointed silk on 13 March 2026, following her appointment as Solicitor-General and Chief Executive of the Crown Law Office on 11 March 2026. Anna will be Aotearoa New Zealand’s 18th Solicitor-General, succeeding Una Jagose KC.
Hon Judith Collins KC was delighted to join Anna at her swearing in ceremony. “Anna’s legal career in the private sector has been long and highly successful”, she said.
Anna joined Bankside in 2023 as a national-level expert in public, health and regulatory law with over 25 years’ experience in advisory work and litigation, ranging from large-scale public cases through to small, personal matters. She has been a valuable member of chambers.
“I am honoured by my appointment as King’s Counsel, and as the incoming Solicitor-General,” said Anna at the post-ceremony function, “and I’m excited by the opportunity to serve the country and be involved in fascinating legal work.”
Anna also reflected on how her diverse life and legal experience in New Zealand, the United States and France had developed her philosophy of law into foundational principles. She especially recognised and thanked her colleagues in the law for being an essential part of her success, including those at the four law firms where she worked, Bankside Chambers, and her clients, many of whom were present.
Bankside member Janette Campbell shares: Anna is such an outstanding selection for the role of Solicitor General. She is a genuine public lawyer, with experience in advising the largest public entities and the smallest personal litigants in matters to do with public law. She has an enormous canon of legal work encompassing many criminal prosecutions, inquests, commercial disputes with public law elements and judicial reviews. At the same time, her experience as a high performing lawyer in private practice will bring a helpful perspective to Crown Law. In 2026, important questions of public law are increasingly the subject of debate and dispute and I’m thrilled that we have someone of Anna’s calibre to steer Crown Law at such a constitutionally important time.”
From all of us at Bankside, we wish Anna all the very best!
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