At the age of 14, I interviewed a lawyer for a school project on careers. She showed me the shelves of bound law reports in her firm’s library and I asked her what the books contained. She replied “people’s stories”. From that moment I wanted to be a lawyer.
By the final year of my law degree I was working every Friday for a small inner city law firm in Christchurch, specialising in debt disputes and conveyancing. This turned into a full time job.
I then took up a position with a large national law firm, specialising in civil litigation; employment law; and privacy law. During this time I became a certified seminar leader for the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.
In 1997, I had the opportunity to lecture and teach at the Institute of Professional Legal Studies and the University of Canterbury, including professional practice, legal ethics, employment law, and privacy law. I continue to lecture in the UC School of Law to this day.
In 2005 I started work for the Crown Solicitor's Office in Christchurch. I achieved the rank of senior crown counsel specialising in criminal prosecutions, civil litigation, employment and privacy law.
In 2009 I moved to a boutique inner city law firm in Christchurch and became a partner, supervising the civil litigation, employment and privacy law team.
In July 2018, I was invited to join Walker Street Chambers as a barrister sole where I now practice in a wide range of civil and employment disputes. I am also assisting in some criminal litigation.
I have a wide range of experience across many areas of law and I have appeared in the District Court, the High Court, the Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court, the Employment Relations Authority, the Employment Court, the Family Court, the Environment Court, and the Human Rights Review Tribunal.
I am known nationally and internationally as one of New Zealand's leading experts in Privacy Law and Employment Law.
In 2009, I authored 'Privacy in Schools'. I also wrote the chapters on Health Information and Employment Law in 'Health Care and the Law 5th Edition' (R Keenan, 2016), and co-authored 'Ethics, Professional Responsibility and the Lawyer, 3rd ed' (Webb, Dalziel & Cook, 2016). In 2019, I wrote the chapter on professional ethics in 'A Practical Guide to Legal Issues for Older People' (V Ammundsen - 2019).
I am regularly asked to comment on privacy and employment matters on national television, radio and in print media.
