Her Word is Law

Every now and again the Far North throws up an interesting statistic and one of those strange-but-true facts is that Kerikeri has more lawyers per capita than all but three other places in New Zealand. Who knew?

When lawyer, Nicole Prosser, moved to Kerikeri she worked for a sole practitioner but when he retired nine years ago she started Law Direct. These days the team also includes Registered Legal Executive Wendy Cribb, Legal Executive Alicia Sawyers and Paihia office PA Sue Orr. In fact Nicole is the only lawyer in practice in Paihia; she is there two afternoons a week and by appointment.

What also sets the practice apart is that at Law Direct is predominantly run by women. In recent times there has been publicity about legal firms not promoting women as often or as far as men. According to the February issue of NZ Law Talk magazine, the latest research shows female lawyers in New Zealand are less likely to earn partnerships at major firms than their counterparts in Australia and the USA. Women lawyers, it said, made up just 19% of partners in large firms in 2012. As for provincial law practices, Nicole Prosser says it's not an issue.

Law Direct specialises in property conveyancing for houses, commercial businesses and trusts. Some of that work covers subdivisions and Nicole says a lot of the land for sale in the Far North will carry covenants.

"The developers want their subdivision to be of a certain standard and the dwelling a certain size and made out of a certain product. I've even read covenants that say you can't let the grass grow past a certain point! And that can have a bearing on whether someone wants to buy or not."

As for the Mid North's growth potential, Nicole notes an increasing number of Aucklanders moving here for the lifestyle. The firm is also receiving more enquiry from overseas, particularly Legal Ladies - from left - Alicia Sawyers, Wendy Cribb and Nicole Prosser Her Word is Law from the UK, from people who want to live and work here.

Mrs Prosser says it has a lot to do with the lifestyle Kerikeri offers but there are other elements - and because she has also worked in London and South Wales she is qualified to compare.

"We have a fairly eclectic population and it's quite cosmopolitan so you have to turn your hand to most things. The work is really varied."

To return to those statistics mentioned at the beginning, if it's a surprise Kerikeri has a high lawyer-per-capita ratio, it's hardly unexpected Wellington tops the list. Feilding has the lowest proportion of lawyers and there's one Far North town actually tops a national list.

While Law Direct is relatively unusual but not unique in being run by women, Kaitaia boasts the highest number of lawyers who have been in practice for over 40 years. And until now, who knew that too?