I am a 6 year PQE Associate at Ford Sumner, practicing in Family, Employment, and Disputes Resolution.

 

With 6.5 years PQE, I’ve had the privilege of working in both public and private sectors focusing on family and employment law, including a role as a lawyer for Oranga Tamariki’s regional litigation team (2020-2021), 3 years in private practice (2021-current) and a graduate position as clerk to the Principal Family Court Judge (2018-2020).

I have dual specialisation in family and employment law, and have advised and advocated for both clients through various issues such as dividing relationship property, childcare arrangements, and family violence, and on the other side of the coin – business restructures, disciplinary processes, health and safety obligations and personal grievances.

This unique blend of expertise allows me to navigate complex legal issues with a comprehensive, solutions-focused and empathetic approach.

My background in research (through my LLM and judge’s clerkship) enhances my ability to provide legal advisory opinion, helping clients understand their rights and options with clarity. During my Masters degree, I completed an internship with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia’s Prosecution Trials team for 5 months in The Hague.

Ford Sumner is a Wellington based law firm with a retainer client base including local, national and international organisations in a range of industry sectors.

We pride ourselves on punching well above our weight on behalf of our clients. We aim to give our clients the advantages of large firms through our professional quality and disciplines alongside the advantages of small firms through our accessible and flexible personal service delivery. Within the firm we maintain this through a collegial approach to work which ensures active and direct partner involvement and great on the job development of our professional staff.

In particular, we strive for high quality legal analysis, advice and advocacy in pro-actively advising our clients on developments in relevant areas of law and also look to apply that in providing robust and usable counsel when specific issues arise.

We practice in the following specialist areas:

Business and enterprise, Dispute resolution, Employment and human resources, Family and Private client, Commercial insolvency and creditor remedies, Construction and environment, Trade practices and competition, Information and communications technology, and Risk management and insurance.

Qualifications

Degrees: LLB/BA LLM (International Law and Politics)
Admission to High Court: 2017

Contact

Midland Chambers, Level 7, 45 Johnston Street, Wellington CBD

Email: ruth@fsl.nz
Phone:
Mobile: 021-523-780
Website | LinkedIn

Areas of practice

Construction, Dispute resolution, Employment, Family 

Languages spoken

English