Welcomed with open arms - new family lawyer in Dannevirke

Meghan Moore has set up a law office in Dannevirke. Photo / Leanne Warr

Family lawyer Meghan Moore already has something of a family connection in Dannevirke.

Her stepfather, John Schouten, was a senior sergeant with Dannevirke police and raised a family here, until 1981.

Moore, with her husband Sam, moved in April to Dannevirke, where he had got a job managing a beef farm about 20 minutes out of town.

"I never thought I'd live in Dannevirke," she says, having lived in Wellington for 18 years.

Or live on a farm.

But it's been "awesome".

"It's been so cool to come to a small town.

"I feel like I've just been welcomed with open arms. It's nice because I've never really felt like part of a community before."

Three years ago Moore decided to move to Masterton, where her mum, Christine Batt, along with her stepfather, had bought a property.

The couple had left Wellington intending to retire in Masterton.

"It was sort of the perfect timing," Moore says. "We all decided that we'd move [there] and that Mum and I would set up a law firm together."

She was admitted to the bar in September 2018, and at first worked for another law firm for a couple of years, taking an opportunity to broaden her experience.

She decided to rejoin Christine at Batt Law, so she could concentrate on court work.

Then Sam got the job on the farm and she began working from home or commuting to Masterton.

"It's been in the back of our minds that we're going to find a little office here," she says.

Which was how she came to find the office in Denmark St, signing the lease at the end of October.

It's still a little disorganised, but she hopes to get that sorted soon.

"I'm still settling in," she says.

Moore plans to focus predominantly on Dannevirke at least four days a week, going down to Masterton at least one day a week to work with clients there.

She will be working on family law cases such as care of children and family violence.

These include matters such as guardianship of children and applications for protection orders.

It is an area she finds rewarding.

"I get a lot of satisfaction out of being able to help someone who's been able to get out of that situation."

She believes she won't be short of work because there hasn't been a dedicated family lawyer in Dannevirke for some time.

"There's been a bit of a shortage. People have been having to go to Hawke's Bay or Palmerston North to find a lawyer, which is hard."

While she will take mainly Dannevirke clients, she will also take clients from Palmerston North and Hawke's Bay.

Moore is also doing mostly legal aid work.

"I'm a supervised provider," she says. "My supervisor is my mum."

Christine has been practising law for more than 30 years.

"My mum and I have a fantastic relationship," Moore says. "We're just good mates. She's cool.

"I call her with all the niggly questions and she's always happy to answer them for me."