Areas of law covered
I work in the commercial team where I specialise in commercial property and leasehold enfranchisement, including lease extensions, residential freehold sales and purchases and right to manage claims.
Qualifications
- LLB (New Zealand)
Brief overview of your career
I hail from New Zealand where I qualified as a solicitor in 1996. I gained UK experience with local authorities and firms in London, including Clifford Chance, before joining Griffith Smith in 2002. I qualified as a solicitor in England and Wales in 2003.
Professional memberships & accreditations
- Former Treasurer of the Sussex Law Society.
What you offer your clients
I offer a personal service. I do my best to ensure that clients are comfortable that they understand the work that I am carrying out for them. I never assume that what is routine for me is routine for my clients and I am always available to talk through queries or concerns that my clients might have.
Why you love what you do
I enjoy delivering the best possible outcome that I can for my clients in their particular circumstances. When a client recommends a friend to me or comes back to me, sometimes years after we were last in touch, it’s pleasing to know that I must have made a worthwhile impression.
Personal interests
I play the piano to relax and I enjoy being regularly thrashed by my son playing one on one basketball. I also have an out of control record collection started 20 years ago when I arrived in England, which now dominates the basement of my house, much to my partner’s chagrin.
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I am leaving the profession after 18 years, and you stand out as someone who helped me when I was fresh to the role of Property Lawyer 11 years ago. I remember 11 years ago I was dealing with my first lease extension, and I didn’t know what I was doing. You took the time in an non-patronising way to talk me through the different lease extension routes, and I have used that information to this day. I have always remembered that kind gift of time and professionalism, so thank you. Never let a thanks go un-said!
Recent kind words from an unexpected quarter (a fellow solicitor I had dealt with from time to time over the years)