Geoff McLay has taught at the Faculty of Law since 1995. He is currently responsible for teaching torts, equity and legislation. He also teaches a masters/honours course in Private Law legal theory.

Geoff served as a Law Commissioner between 2010 and 2015 and served as the chair of the Legislation Design Advisory Committee’s external subcommittee until 2019. He is also the editor of the New Zealand Law Reports. In 2006 he was the New Zealand Law Foundation International Research Fellow. At the Law Commission, Geoff led projects on Credit Repossession, Trusts, Incorporated Societies, Credit Repossession, Crown Proceedings, Extradition and Mutual Assistance, and Classified and Security Information, He also led the project to rewrite the LDAC’s Guidelines to which all New Zealand legislation must comply.

Geoff has a BA and LLB (Hons) (First Class) from Victoria University of Wellington. In 2006 he was a visiting Professor at the University of Iowa College of Law, teaching torts and advanced torts and product liability. He has also taught advanced torts at the University of Western Ontario (Winter 2002).

At Victoria University of Wellington, Geoff has taught a wide range of undergraduate and graduate courses, including torts, advanced torts, intellectual property, competition (antitrust) law, comparative constitutional law, and ethics. He has published a wide range of articles in these areas.



Current Research:
Geoff is slowly working towards a biography of Sir Robert Stout, Premier and Chief Justice of New Zealand (and founder of Victoria University of Wellington).