The Best Family
Lawyers In Christchurch

Rupert Ward Barrister

Rupert is happily married with a family of five children. A New Zealand and Dutch citizen, Mr Ward was educated in Christchurch, New Zealand. He loves Skiing, Tennis and the beach and has developed a 4 acre Historic Canterbury garden. A great grandson of Sir Joseph Ward, a past New Zealand Prime Minister, and a great(x2) nephew of Sir Patrick Jennings, past Premier of New South Wales, Australia, Mr Ward has an abiding interest in New Zealand and Australian history.

In addition to Rupert’s specialisation as one of New Zealand’s most experienced Immigration Lawyers, he uses his business and investment experience to help his clients achieve their objectives in the commercial arena and in family property disputes. Rupert is an active civil and criminal Legal aid provider. Rupert’s criminal practice demonstrates a particular interest in young offenders. Rupert also holds a practicing certificate as a Barrister in Queensland, Australia and is available for instruction regarding New Zealanders facing deportation risk in Queensland*. Possessing a keen social conscience Rupert was a Trustee of the Ka Wahine Trust, which was the only half-way home for freshly released woman prisoners in Canterbury to assist in their reintegration into society.

In addition to his native English, Rupert also speaks Dutch (conversational), French (basic conversational) and German (basic comprehension) languages.

Rupert lived in the United Kingdom, France and the Netherlands whilst living in Europe for over 11 years where he worked in cooperation with Immigration New Zealand and as a trade development officer for the State Government of Queensland. He has worked in various European countries including Germany, Poland, Belgium and Switzerland.

Rupert has travelled to many Asian countries including Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, Thailand, China, Indonesia, India and the Middle East and Fiji.

Contact

Lighthouse Legal

Our legal team are a talented bunch of experienced lawyers who all have invested in undertaking specialised training, here and overseas, in mediation, Collaborative process and coaching – all in a bid to help you resolve your legal issues as peacefully as possible.

We are a group of experienced lawyers who also coach and mediate. We all had our own practices but came together out of a commitment to keeping our clients out of Court. We share a vision of how law can be done differently to achieve better outcomes for our clients and their families.

​Each of us believes that life’s most challenging moments bring opportunities to create greater understanding and to thrive.

Whether you are: buying your first home, looking to grow your family through surrogacy or adoption, working through a separation or shoring up your will and other legal arrangements, we understand that these are big moments in life that can be emotional and carry high stakes. With our supportive and holistic approach, we aim to give you greater clarity and certainty so you can confidently move forward and make the decisions you need to.

Welcome to your Lighthouse Legal. We look forward to lighting the way to resolving your legal matter with you.

Contact

Weston Ward & Lascelles

We are a highly experienced team providing frank and exceptional legal advice and services in Christchurch and New Zealand since 1883.

“We know clients are looking for practical and clear advice as to what to do in difficult circumstances, so sometimes unpleasant situations need to be brought on and/or tackled head on. No matter how complex your situation is, we can find you a solution.”

Drawing on over a century of legal experience in Christchurch, our law firm provides a wealth of knowledge and skill in various legal areas. At Weston Ward & Lascelles, we combine our historic expertise with modern legal practices to deliver trusted, effective solutions tailored to the specific needs of our Christchurch community.

“Reach out and discover how our expertise can make a significant difference in your case.””

Recognised as the go-to lawyers in Christchurch, our law firm boasts dedicated lawyers specialising in family law, property law, business law, trust law and wills and estates.

Contact

Layburn Hodgins Barristers & Solicitors

As part of the Layburn Hodgins promise to be client focused, flexible and provide value for money, we have created a way to cut out the ‘middle lawyer’ for simple legal documents! The result is a cheaper and more flexible way for you to customise your own legal documents.

Customer service means everything to us. Naturally we’re here to provide top quality legal advice and service to individuals and businesses alike, but lots of law firms claim to do that. We want to be different. We want to be the law firm that bent over backwards to make you feel welcomed, listened to, and valued. And did a great job for you.

We’ve abandoned the office towers and embraced simplicity and technology. We are designed to provide smart, flexible, client focused legal services. We prefer to keep our overheads low so that we can focus on your interests, not ours. Put simply, Layburn Hodgins would rather work with you to achieve your goals than chase billable hours to pay for “partner” golf games and expensive boardroom tables.

We are serious about the law and we focus on delivering great legal services at a reasonable, predictable price. Our team of talented lawyers are experts in a variety of legal areas providing a ‘one stop shop’ for legal services. As your legal needs change throughout our relationship with you, we will ensure that you have the right lawyer for the job. Our integrity and client focus will remain consistent irrespective of which team member assists you.

Contact

Harmans Lawyer

Every firm takes a different approach to providing client services. We take pride in being client oriented.

Our long-standing commitment to providing accessible, value-added legal services with a personal touch is one of our key differentiators. We remain large enough to offer a wide range of services, but small enough to ensure that our client-first value is never compromised.

Establishing rapport and a trusting relationship with you is fundamental to how we operate. We will listen carefully to ensure that we understand your needs, then fully explain the various options available to you.

Hard work and quality advice is at the heart of the service we offer to you. To deliver the best outcome for you, we continuously improve our expertise through education and collaboration, utilising the vast range of talents across our team.

To be the best for you, we need to be the best version of ourselves. We are committed to looking after all aspects of our wellbeing for ourselves, our clients, our families, and our communities.

We value community. We support many charities through ongoing donations, sponsorship of events, fundraising initiatives, as well as offering legal services and volunteering. We encourage our staff to take a day’s paid leave each year to work with a charity of their choice.

We are grateful to our clients who continually put their faith in us.

Contact

Linwood Law

The need to provide access to justice for all members of the community is a core principle of the Linwood Law team. With this in mind, a new Legal Aid Family Law service was launched in February 2017.

Legal Aid is Government funding for legal help where the client cannot afford to pay. Affordability is based on a formula assessment and your eligibility will depend on a combination of your income and assets. Some clients will be required to pay back their grant of aid to the Ministry of Justice but this is assessed on a case by case basis and again is dependent on your income and assets. To see if you might be eligible visit the Ministry of Justice website.

If you are not sure, call Linwood Law and ask for a referral to the Legal Aid team who can help you with the application process.

The services offered by the Legal Aid team include all family law matters – paternity, parenting orders, guardianship, custody matters where the Ministry for Vulnerable Children, Oranga Tamariki, (“MVCOT”) have become involved with families and family violence (protection orders). Where necessary the Legal Aid team can work in with the other teams at Linwood Law to provide a wrap-around service for our clients. We also have a working relationship with a diverse range of social services and support providers.

Contact

Cavell Leitch

Cavell Leitch provides clear, practical legal advice to clients across New Zealand, empowering you to move forward with confidence. We simplify complex legal matters, helping you make informed decisions that lead to positive outcomes. Whether you are dealing with personal or business issues, we are here to guide you every step of the way.

Confidence comes from knowing you’re getting advice that’s thorough and sound. We are a full service nationwide law firm that is based in Christchurch. Our large and strong team includes genuine specialists in nearly every area of law. Whatever you need, we have you covered.

We aim to provide the best legal experience in New Zealand. That means we put you, our client, at the heart of everything. We work to fully understand your needs so we can be as effective as possible in our advice and actions. And our proactive and reasoned legal advice is supported by smooth processes and clear expectations.

“We have used the services of Cavell Leitch now for over 15 years. We have always found them to be wonderful to work with. They are the complete professionals! They have a variety of expert lawyers so can give us an expert opinion on any subject matter re the law we may need. They communicate very well and make things easy to understand. Their integrity is unquestionable. We have no hesitation in recommending their services to anyone.”

Contact

Angeline Boniface Barrister

I am an experienced Christchurch legal practitioner, working from Walker St Chambers.

I have 27 years specialising in family law, and more recently (the last 10 years) assisting people with their employment law issues. My advice is practical, robust and client focussed.

After the past 11 years being a partner in a Christchurch firm, I have moved towards focussing on the clients themselves, rather than the other aspects of running a firm. It provides me with the opportunity to tailor my workload to give the best possible service.

I am married with one teenage son and two crazy dogs. At the weekends I enjoy getting out and about in the hills, riding my bike or playing the piano (although, not all at once).

A relationship breakup can feel as painful as a death in the family, but it does not have to involve years of litigation and stress.

The best possible solution is to get legal assistance before anything goes wrong. If that is not possible, the next best thing is to engage a lawyer at the earliest opportunity. They will guide you through the steps that need to be taken, at a pace that is comfortable for you.

There are a few family lawyers in Christchurch trained in Collaborative Dispute Resolution, and I am one of them. It is a process involving the removal of Court from the situation. The lawyers and clients work together to get an outcome that works for all.

If Court is necessary however, I will guide you through the Court process. I have attended countless mediations and hearings for both family and employment cases.

I have often found that the potential angst in employment law matters can be similar to that experienced during a relationship breakup. But it does not need to be that way. With expert advice in advance of and during a process, you can avoid potential problems before they occur.

Contact

Corcoran French Lawyers

Large enough to service your legal needs at every turn, but small enough to know you. Corcoran French has the size and legal expertise to tackle substantial issues while providing an accessible, personalised service with a single point of contact.

We’re always striving to achieve the best for the most important people in our business, our clients. To give you our best, we live and breathe by a set of core values that inspire us to go above and beyond. They are our mantra, our motto, our heart.

They keep us grounded while we’re committing to personal growth, ongoing staff training, and making sure we’re up-to-date with new laws. All of this to better serve you.

Our values are unique to us, they set us apart and underpin everything that we do.

Legal challenges can be stressful and overwhelming. That’s why it’s important to work with a legal firm you can trust. Here at Corcoran French, we consider our clients the most important people in our business. Getting you the best result is our priority. For more than 130 years we have been offering Canterbury residents and businesses legal advice and peace of mind when it’s needed most. Find out more about us and why people in Canterbury and Westland are choosing our team of experienced personal and business lawyers.

Contact