Profile

We’ve proudly been helping Cantabrians like you for almost 150 years.

Godfreys Law can help you with all your legal needs; from relationship property and conveyancing to commercial disputes and employment. We’re real people providing real legal solutions.

You might have seen our building as you drive down Moorhouse Ave, opposite the Ara Polytech buildings. Just off Washington Way, you will find plenty of parking making it easy to come in and speak with us.

If access up the stairs is an issue please let us know; we can use one of the meeting rooms on the ground floor.

Life Law

Our specialist Life Law team can help you with your legal needs whatever your stage of life. From drafting Enduring Powers of Attorneys or Wills to Contracting Out Agreements and Relationship Property Agreements, through to sorting out retirement villages and estate planning, our expert team will work closely with you to ensure you and your loved ones are looked at after.

Conveyancing

Whether buying your first home or subdividing and developing our conveyancing team will guide you through what can be a confusing process. We can help with everything from reviewing the contract and property files, sorting finance and insurance, right through to settlement.

Commercial Law

At Godfreys Law we deal with businesses of all sizes and stages of life. If you’re a start-up, a sole trader, or an established employer we can help you with all your legal needs. Employment law, commercial litigation, debt recovery, or buying or selling a business, our team will help you find a real solution no matter how complex your problem.

Employment Law

Our Employment Team works to protect both Employers and Employees. We can help you with reviewing a new job offer, investigate a PG, or deal with a redundancy or restructuring proposal.

Real People. Real Solutions.

How can we help you? Godfreys Law can represent you personally or your business, to find the best solution for you contact Godfreys Law today.

Our Team

Contact:

Notes:

Mark Hinton – Consultant to WCM Legal, Carterton

 Past Chairman

Mark lives in Masterton with his wife Maria. They have three adult children (two of whom live in Australia and one in Wellington.) Mark and Maria also have two grandchildren (regrettably in  Australia) and a further additional grandchild is expected in Australia in the New Year. Mark completed his law degree through Victoria University of Wellington in the 1970s and following a stint for several years in both the Housing Corporation and as District Solicitor of the Department of Lands and Survey in Hamilton, Mark, and another practitioner and set up a firm in Hamilton in 1981. 

In 1989 Mark and his family headed south again and joined Keith McClure (many of you will know that Keith's wife Adrienne is Marks's wife Maria's sister) and others at Wollerman Cooke and McClure (now WCM LEGAL) in Carterton, Wairarapa where he is still in practice. WCM LEGAL is one of the founding firms of LANZ. The firm has four offices, Wellington, Greytown, Carterton, and Masterton, and is heavily reliant on technology to link them all together. Mark was privileged to be the inaugural recipient of the Te Toko Koru award which he says was quite a humbling experience given the caliber of LANZ membership and the time that many other members freely spend promoting and supporting LANZ. Joining the board enabled Mark to contribute something to LANZ and recognizes the work done by others from which his firm has benefited.

His interests in LANZ included assisting and participating in the further development and utilization of the Practice Managers group. In his view, Practice Managers are a priceless resource to our member firms and we should be doing everything we can to identify and develop initiatives for that group that will give an immediate flow-on effect to our member firm's bottom line.

In addition, as a former member of the IT committee some years ago, (the committee recommended Infinity Law to members) he believes the additional use of technology will assist member firms, one example being LANZ-wide compliance audit of AML requirements. Mark joined the board to contribute more to LANZ and was the  Chairman for LANZ from 2021 to 2022.

Director at  BDM Lawyers formerly Tripe Matthews Feist, Wellington 

Chairman

Julius was a commercial partner at Tripe Matthews Feist in Wellington. Tripe Matthews Feist have recently merged with Keesing McLeod to form Battah Davie Maskell Lawyers or BDM Lawyers. 

Julius graduated from Victoria University of Wellington in 2005 with an LLB and BSc majoring in Chemistry. Julius has a strong customer service background and has been in general practice since his admission in 2006. He joined Tripe Matthews Feist in 2011 and became a Partner of the firm in 2015.

Julius currently specializes in Unit Titles, Construction Law, and working with not-for-profit community organizations. He also has experience with trusts, wills, probates and estates, contracts, residential and commercial conveyancing, employment, commercial property, relationship property, alternative dispute resolution, and arbitration.

Accredited Specialist - Property Law Section

President - Wellington Branch, New Zealand Law Society.

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Past Executive Officer

Tony was the Executive Officer of Law Alliance NZ Limited having taken up that role from 1 January 2023 to December 2024.

Tony was a director of Steindle Williams Legal Limited, which is a member of Law Alliance NZ Limited. He is now a Director of  Contessa Law.   

Tony has practiced as a lawyer for over 30 years specialising in commercial and property law.  Tony has also written a book on Property Investment and appeared several times on television, and presented a number of seminars on property law. He was also a member of the National Standards Committee of the New Zealand Law Society for 6 years.

Director of KT Law

Brent joined the Law Alliance NZ firm, Kannangara Thomson as a partner in 2015, after 26 years with a larger Christchurch firm.

In 2017 Brent joined the Executive of Law Alliance NZ and acted as Treasurer until leaving the Executive in early 2022.

He lives in North Canterbury about 40km outside of Christchurch, with his wife, Fleur, also a lawyer wiht KT Law. They have four children between them, three older boys living in Christchurch, Dublin in Ireland, and Wellington, and together, they have a daughter, Keisha, aged 13.

Brent completed his law degree in two stints at Canterbury University. He completed his first and second years of Law in 1983 and 1984 before spending two years living and working in the UK, returning to complete the degree at Canterbury in 1987 and 1988.

He joined Harmans in 1989 and joined the partnership of that firm in 1994 and was a member of that partnership until resigning from the firm in March 2015 to join Kannangara Thomson- now KT Law.

Brent was co-opted onto the board of Law Alliance NZ in 2017 before being elected for an initial three-year term at the AGM in Sydney in 2018. He was the treasurer of Law Alliance New Zealand.

He has had numerous board positions in the past on three not for profits, several private company directorships, and two school boards, on a number of occasions as chair. In addition to the obvious ‘buying power of the Law Alliance NZ group of firms in obtaining favorable deals with suppliers, the point of difference for Law Alliance NZ member firms for Brent is the collegiality and informal support networks that exist within the group. This was never better displayed than during the aftermath of the recent Covid-19 pandemic when some groups of firms in the same general region scheduled regular support group calls and shared ideas and information which would be less likely to occur but for the relationship of trust which exists because of the relationships built at conferences.

His areas of legal practice are varied and include all aspects of residential and commercial property law as well as a significant interest in asset protection, estate planning, and succession law.

Founder

Allan Gallagher's experience with strategic alliances is the foundation of LANZ.

As a Lawyer in private practice for forty-plus years, a past member of the LawLink Group Limited, Co-founder and original Director of NZ Law Limited, the owner/manager of Law Library Consortium Limited, and also the Founder and originating Chairman and Managing Director of Law Alliance NZ Limited, all of the referred groups being significant alliances of Law Firms from throughout New Zealand, Allan Gallagher has significant experience in regards to syndicated procurement of product and services, in addition to the marshaling of common interest by Law Firms who wish to work together to secure increased work-life outcome as a result of their collective association.

Allan maintains a strong role in the marshaling of resources for LANZ, acts as a legal 'think tank' to the alliance, and has the practical expertise to make ongoing advancements for the group.