Tafaoimalo Leilani Tuala-Warren

Tafaoimalo Leilani Sina Naireen Tuala-Warren is a former Samoan judge, who served as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Samoa from 2016 to 2023. She was the second woman Supreme Court judge in Samoa.^[1]

Tafaoimalo Leilani Sina Naireen Tuala-Warren
Justice of the Supreme Court of Samoa
In office 29 April 2016 – 24 March 2023
Personal details
Born	Apia, Samoa
Alma mater	University of Sydney University of Waikato

Early life and education

Tuala-Warren was born in Apia to a dentist father and a flight attendant mother, and was educated at Leifiifi College in Malifa and Tintern Grammar in Melbourne, Australia. She won an AUSAID scholarship to the University of Sydney, graduating with a Bachelor of Economics in 1993. She then won a NZODA Scholarship to the University of Waikato, where she graduated with a Bachelor and Master of Laws in 1997, before completing a pre-admission course at the university's Institute of Professional Legal Studies in 1998.^[2][3][4]

Professional career

Tuala-Warren was a state solicitor in Samoa's Office of the Attorney-General from 1998 to 2000 before returning to Waikato University to teach from 2001 to 2005, variously as a tutor, teaching fellow and then law lecturer, teaching dispute resolution, corporate and commercial law and consumer protection. She returned to Samoa in 2005 to work as a partner with her brother's firm, Tuala & Tuala Lawyers, in their litigation practice. Tuala-Warren became the Executive Director of the Samoa Law Reform Commission in 2009, and was appointed as a Samoa District Court judge in August 2013. As District Court judge, she was the main judge for the Family Court and Family Violence Court.^[2][1]

She was appointed to the Supreme Court of Samoa in April 2016 after being recommended by the Court Commission, headed by the Chief Justice of Samoa.^[3][4] In January 2023 she announced she would be resigning from the court in March.^[5] She retired from her role on 24 March.^[6]

In June 2024 she was appointed as the Dean of Law at the University Waikato, Te Piringa - Faculty of Law.^[7]

In August 2022 she was awarded a Distinguished Alumni Award by the University of Waikato.^[8] In August 2023 she was appointed Professor of Law by the University of Waikato.^[9]

In mid January 2025, Minister of Māori Development Tama Potaka appointed Tuala-Warren to the Waitangi Tribunal, a tribunal that considers Treaty of Waitangi claims and is tasked with fostering reconciliation between Māori people and the New Zealand Crown.^[10]

Personal life

She is married to New Zealand Māori Land Court judge Aidan Warren.^[3][4][6]