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K3 Expands Legal Team with Family Law Expert

3 October 2018




Family law expert and barrister Toni Brown who has joined K3 Legal.


Fast-growing law firm K3 Legal is expanding its ranks with the appointment of a new director - family law expert and barrister Toni Brown.

Until recently, Brown was running her own firm in Tauranga but she officially joined K3 Legal in October.

Toni’s appointment brings the number of partners to seven, three of whom are women, making K3 Legal a stand-out among law firms in New Zealand for gender equality. It is already one of the most ethnically diverse firms.

Originally from Opotoki and schooled in Whakatane, Toni moved to Dunedin to do her law degree in 1989 and spent the next 20 years in Otago and Central Otago, before returning to the North Island. In 2013, she started her own firm, Toni Brown Law, in Tauranga, specialising in family and trust law.

She has worked on many notable cases and cites three she is particularly proud of:

• Acting as counsel for the Voluntary Euthanasia Society in the Lecretia Seales case
• Acting as the lawyer for a dying child to determine who had the rights to make decisions about the child’s body
• A Bill of Rights case relating to children under the age of 10 who wanted to practise their Jehovah’s Witness religion despite conflict between their parents

“I’m very interested in these sorts of cases and they make up about 30% of the work I do, with the other 70% being major relationship property cases, often involving trusts and companies,” says Toni.

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She’s very much looking forward to joining the K3 team and describes herself as “approachable, open-minded and forthright”.

K3 Legal founder and director Mark Kirkland says he is delighted to have Toni on board. “I’ve known Toni a long time and she has a very impressive track record. She will be a major asset on the K3 team.”

The past year has been one of solid growth for K3, which has included a move into newly-renovated premises in Albert Street opposite the District Court, expansion of its offering beyond legal to include accounting and consulting, and a dramatic increase in client numbers.

“We’ve also promoted Kerry Puddle to Senior Associate and taken on six other new staff to handle the increase in business,” says Kirkland.

The team’s hard work has been further rewarded, with K3 up for a host of awards. It has been chosen as a finalist in the 2018 New Zealand Law Awards in two categories:

1. Boutique law firm of the year
2. Litigation and dispute resolution specialist firm of the year

The winners will be announced in Auckland on 15 November.

In addition, the internationally-renowned Doyle’s Guide has recommended K3 Legal as a “leading law firm”, while AsiaLaw Profiles, which produces a guide to the leading law firms in the Asia Pacific region, has once again recommended K3 Legal for restructuring and insolvency and calls it a “notable firm” in the field of dispute resolution and litigation.

ENDS

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