Originally from Manchester, Dave Smith
is the inaugural Executive Director of the Legal Services Board of New Zealand, which was
set up in 1992 following the coming into force of the Legal Services Act.Dave studied law at Victoria University of Wellington where he later obtained
a Master of Public Policy degree (an inter-disciplinary qualification in politics,
statistics, economics and law).
Prior to joining the Board, he was a private practice lawyer
specialising in aviation, medical and administrative law. For several years, he was also
the chief legal adviser of the Ministry of Transport and the author of the leading New
Zealand text on the law covering all transport modes.
He was the New Zealand representative at the 1997 legal aid
conference in Edinburgh.