For 20 years from 1980 Peter appeared regularly  in the Family Court in a wide variety of cases from custody and access cases to matrimonial property cases, adoptions, guardianship and care and protection issues.  A number of cases have been on matters of major public significance. One example of this is the case of Healthcare Otago Limited v Williams-Holloway [1999] NZFLR 792. This case involved an appearance for Healthcare Otago Limited who applied for a guardianship order in relation to a young child whose parents were refusing treatment for a serious but curable cancer condition. The case attracted considerable publicity and debate about the right of the state to interfere with parent’s choices about health treatment for their children. For many years Peter was appointed by the Court to act as Counsel for Child or Counsel to assist the Court in difficult family law cases. One reported example of this is B v The Director General of the Department of Social Welfare [1994] NZFLR 844. This was an innovative use of care and protection proceedings to ensure that a disabled child received necessary treatment and resources. Peter continues to be briefed regularly in complex relationship property cases.

For 10 years, from the establishment of the Youth Court as a separate Court in the 1980's, Peter was on the panel of Youth Advocates.   This involved  appearing for young people both at family group conferences and similar whanau gatherings and representing them in the Youth Court. A number of the cases Peter was involved with contributed to the development of a separate body of Youth Court Jurisprudence.