Areas of law covered
Dan works in the commercial team where he specialises 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
Dan hails from New Zealand where he qualified as a solicitor in 1996. He gained UK experience with local authorities and firms in London, including Clifford Chance, before joining Griffith Smith in 2002. Dan 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.
-
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)