People
Greg Kelly and our team have many years of experience in our specialist areas of the law. We regularly present seminars, webinars, and training sessions to other lawyers and professionals about trusts, estate, and elder law. We have taught part of the Equity & Trusts course at Victoria University of Wellington, and regularly write for legal publications.
Greg, Colette, and Kimberly are also authors of the 8th Edition of Garrow & Kelly Law of Trusts and Trustees, the seminal New Zealand textbook on trusts. Greg is a co-author of Dobbies’ Probate and Administration Practice (5th and 6th editions) and he and Kevin Lenahan are working on the 7th edition.
Our lawyers are experts in complex trust, estate, relationship property, and elder law matters. We are genuinely interested in the work that we do and dedicated to providing the highest quality advice and representation to our clients.
Greg Kelly
Consultant
Greg has been in legal practice since 1979 and is a recognised national authority on wills, estates, and trust law.
Colette Mackenzie
Director
Colette advises on all aspects of trust and estate law, including estate planning, with particular expertise in the interplay between trusts and relationship property on separation.
Kimberly Lawrence
Director
Kimberly specialises in trust and estate disputes, with a particular focus on providing technical legal opinions, strategic advice, and representation in litigation. She enjoys simplifying complex problems and providing a clear path forward for individuals, professionals, executors, and trustees.
Sharee Cavanaugh
Director
Sharee has more than a decade of litigation and advisory experience resolving complex, multi-party trust, relationship property, and estate disputes. She provides practical, efficient, and often highly technical advice and representation for executors, trustees, beneficiaries, and claimants in relation to such disputes.
Kevin Lenahan
Director
Kevin practiced as a barrister specialising in estate litigation in Dublin, Ireland for over a decade prior to moving to New Zealand in 2021. He has particular experience in contentious probate matters and trust and estate disputes. He is caring, empathetic, and looks for pragmatic solutions. He is also a mediator (AMINZ and Resolution Institute accredited) and brings a wealth of additional skills to his role as a litigator and advisor.
Carolynn McLaughlin
Associate & Registered Legal Executive
Carolynn is a Fellow of the NZ Institute of Legal Executives who specialises in probate and estate administration.
Kevin Zhu
Solicitor
Kevin joined the firm in April 2023. In addition to his law degree, he holds a bachelor of science majoring in Psychology.
Kahlia Neal
Registered Legal Executive
Kahlia is a Registered Legal Executive specialising in conveyancing.
Robyn Thomson
PA/Legal Secretary
Robyn is the firm’s AML Compliance Officer and is also Personal Assistant to the Directors. She has worked as a personal assistant/legal secretary for many years and has a wide range of knowledge and experience in law firm administration.
Mackenzie Triggs
Receptionist/Legal Secretary
Mackenzie is our receptionist as well as being a legal secretary. If you need to make an appointment with any of our team (whether in person, via Teams, or Zoom), Mackenzie can schedule that for you in the appropriate forum.
Mark Phillips
Invoicing and Business Administration
Mark Phillips Limited provides invoicing and administration advice to the firm, with its eponymous director bringing a wealth of accounts and business administration knowledge and experience.
