Mātai Chambers
Gowan Duff

Counsel · Barrister

Gowan Duff

No conviction treated as inevitable.

027 282 8287gowan@mataichambers.com

In brief

Gowan Duff is a criminal defence barrister with just shy of a decade in serious criminal litigation. He acts on charges from regulatory offences to homicide, including drug conspiracies, sexual offending, and violence, with particular strength in jury trials, appeals, and cases that turn on the detail of the documents.

He began with a senior barrister on international commercial arbitration, then moved to insurance litigation at a central Auckland firm. In 2017 he went to the criminal bar and took that discipline with him.

He has conducted eight homicide trials as junior and co-counsel and appeared in hundreds of matters in the District Court, High Court, and Court of Appeal, for first-time defendants and repeat clients, professionals and people facing life imprisonment, both as sole counsel and within larger teams in multi-defendant trials. He chairs the New Zealand Bar Association's Te Ao Māori Committee and sits on the Legal Aid Selection Committee, and has served on the Association's Council and the New Zealand Rugby Union Disputes Tribunal. He is a co-founder of Mātai Chambers and of Aunoa, practice management software for barristers.

Time at the bar

Iwi
Ngāiterangi, Te Arawa, and Ngāti Raukawa
Education
LLB, University of Auckland, 2013
Admitted
2014
Jury trials
More than 30 as lead counsel, and eight homicide trials as junior and co-counsel
Instructing
Privately, through solicitors or directly
Legal aid
PAL 1 to 4
Juniors
Fred Choi and Sherry Zhang

Selected cases

  1. Red Fox Tavern murder convictions set aside; acquittals enteredAppeal against the murder and aggravated robbery convictions allowed; the verdicts were unreasonable. For Mr Hoggart, with Q Duff and S L McColgan.Wilson v R [2026] NZSC 88Supreme Court, 7 July 2026
  2. Home detention for precursor offendingSentenced almost twenty years after the verdict. The prosecution sought imprisonment; eight months' home detention imposed. With Fred Choi.R v McJarrow [2026] NZDC 12883District Court, 11 June 2026
  3. A discharge without conviction for assaultWounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm reduced to common assault. Lead counsel; Fred Choi appeared.R v BDistrict Court, 20 October 2025
  4. Home detention for arson$110,000 damage to commercial premises. Lead counsel, with Fred Choi.R v TDistrict Court, 3 October 2025
  5. Murder charge discharged at trial; manslaughter charge dismissedArgued the successful application to discharge the murder charge at the close of the prosecution case. The jury could not agree on manslaughter, and the charge was dismissed after the prosecution accepted there was insufficient evidence for a retrial. Co-counsel, led by M W Ryan.R v MHigh Court, October 2025
  6. Acquitted by the jury of sexual violationJury trial on two charges of sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection and two of indecent assault. Not guilty on all four. Lead counsel, with Guneesh Jubal.R v YDistrict Court, September 2025
  7. Murder trialJunior to Q Duff. Convicted.High Court, June to July 2025
  8. Home detention for importing methamphetamineImportation, possession for supply, and firearms. Eleven months' home detention. Lead counsel, with Fred Choi.R v TDistrict Court, 24 March 2025
  9. A discharge without conviction that prevented deportationAssault. Lead counsel, with Fred Choi.R v DDistrict Court, 2025
  10. Assault charges withdrawn mid-trialJury trial on threat to kill and assault. In cross-examination the complainant accepted she started the fight, and the assault charges were withdrawn. Supervising J Seton, who cross-examined.R v MDistrict Court, October 2024
  11. Acquitted of murder on self-defenceMurder trial. Acquitted of murder and manslaughter. Junior counsel, with Q Duff.R v NathanHigh Court, April 2024
  12. Drive-by shooting charges withdrawnThe jury was unable to agree, and the prosecution withdrew all charges rather than retry. Lead counsel, with Fred Choi.R v TDistrict Court, 2024
  13. Aggravated robbery conviction quashedConvicted at a trial held in his absence, while his co-accused was acquitted. The Court of Appeal found the identification evidence left the conviction unsafe, and ordered no retrial. With Q Duff.F v RCourt of Appeal, 2 November 2023
  14. Manslaughter trialJunior to L Cordwell. Convicted.High Court, November 2023
  15. Acquitted of murderMurder trial. Found guilty only of being an accessory after the fact. With Q Duff and W Rhodes.R v RHigh Court, September 2023
  16. Red Fox Tavern murder appealAppeal against the murder and aggravated robbery convictions, dismissed. The Supreme Court later allowed the further appeal and entered acquittals. For Mr Hoggart, with Q Duff and S L McColgan.Wilson v R [2023] NZCA 155Court of Appeal, 5 May 2023
  17. Murder trialJunior to L Cordwell. Convicted.High Court, 2023
  18. Acquitted of aggravated burglaryJury trial of five defendants. Not guilty. Lead counsel, with O Paine.R v MHigh Court, June 2022
Next in chambersWiremu Rhodes