Members of the legal fraternity are tipping their hats to the man who revolutionised the way young people are treated by the courts.

Judge Mick Brown was New Zealand's first Principal Youth Court Judge, and was responsible for introducing a restorative approach.

He's died at the age of 77.

Lawyer Helen Bowen says he was responsible for a system that's so successful, it's often been copied and is widely used overseas.

She says he'd been practicing restorative justice anyway, by getting offenders into court and arranging meetings with victims.

Helen Bowen says Mick Brown was always ahead of his time.