Qualifications : PhD in Law, University of Otago.

With a career spanning more than 40 years, Fiona has been one of the leading family law specialists in New Zealand. A previous deputy chairperson of the Family Law Section of the New Zealand Law Society and past convenor of their Policy and Law Reform and Mediation Standing Committees, Fiona is currently a panel member assisting in Hague Convention matters. She was recognised as an expert on the relocation of children, having completed a Master of Law focusing on this subject and presenting at international Family Law conferences in London in 2013 and 2016.

Fiona completed doctoral studies at the University of Otago, being awarded a PhD in family law.

Fiona is now increasingly sought after to mediate difficult property and trust matters arising out of relationship breakdown or unresolved estate disputes following the death of a family member.

She strongly supports mediation as a way to resolve issues, seeing the process as ensuring that all parties have an opportunity to be heard with dignity and respect, supported by sound legal advice, and re-empowered to make their own decisions. Fiona is a trained mediator, an FDR mediator, a member of the Resolution Institute and an Associate of AMINZ.

Areas of expertise

Other Credentials

• Doyles Guide, Recommended Lawyer, Family and Relationship Property 2024
• NZ|Lawyer Elite Women List 2023