Lawyers

Valerie grew up within the tribal lands of Ngati Porou, where she returned to Hawke’s Bay to attend St Joseph’s Maori Girls’ College. Valerie studied at Otago University of Dunedin where she completed a conjoint degree of a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Maori Studies. During her time in Dunedin, Valerie was a senior tutor for the largest Maori paper and she played a huge role in implementing tikanga within Te Roopu Whai Putake (Maori Law Students Association). She also gained practical experience volunteering at Community Law Otago and the Ngai Tahu Community Maori Law Centre.

Janet is a tama’ita’i Samoa who grew up in Te Matau-a-Maui/Hawkes Bay, before spending 10 years in Waikato where she completed a LL.M (second class hons) at the University of Waikato. Janet was President of the Pacific Law Students Association and Samoan Students Association and was an integral part of developing the Pacific Plan for the University in 2018. Janet began practising as an in-house litigation lawyer for Oranga Tamariki in Ōtepoti/Dunedin and after two Southland winters, Janet and her aiga/family moved home to Paharakeke/Flaxmere. Janet continued working for Oranga Tamariki Ahuriri/Napier office before joining private practice in February 2022.

John started with Willis Legal in early 2023 as a Law Clerk, being admitted to the bar in November 2023. He is working under the esteemed Lawrie Willis and enjoys helping clients with their residential property transactions.

Georgia is a senior solicitor here at Willis Legal. After obtaining her law degree from the University of Canterbury, she moved to Auckland where she worked in two general law practices. She gained wide expertise in residential and commercial property as well as relationship property, particularly separation and contracting out agreements.

When she’s not at work, Georgia loves walking her beloved sausage dog, Raisin and getting outside into her garden.  She’s recently taken up pottery so we may see some lovely homemade pots around the office in the future!

Tim, an experienced senior solicitor, offers expert guidance in conveyancing, commercial transactions, wills, enduring powers of attorney, and local authority matters. He thrives on the opportunity to resolve complex problems for his clients and ensures that his clients receive comprehensive, expert advice tailored to their unique needs.

After graduating in 2018, Tim worked as an in-house counsel with a trade organisation in Wellington before moving to another Hawke’s Bay law firm, where he has been for the past four years.

Quincy joined Willis Legal in early 2024.  She is a Hawke’s Bay local and started her career working for another local firm, then spent a year with the Ministry for the Environment followed by four months travelling overseas in 2023.

She has a broad range of knowledge and expertise in the property and commercial areas of law, as well as in the personal client area of wills, estates and trusts. Through her work with the Ministry and a Hawke’s Bay environmental planning company, she has also gained an interest in resource management and environmental planning matters.

Quincy will be working with partner Sarah Beckett and her particular focus will be on helping our clients with any property and commercial matters.