Practice Areas
Kānuka Chambers provides expert legal counsel across a range of specialties. From employment law and human rights to dispute resolution, investigations, and education law, our barristers deliver tailored, strategic solutions to help clients navigate complex challenges. Explore our practice areas to learn more.
Employment Law
Employment law is dynamic and people-centric. Kānuka counsel are highly skilled specialists who understand and excel in providing sound and strategic advice. We deliver outcomes which incorporate the legal framework and the subtleties of inter personal relationships, along with organisational drivers and objectives. We provide tailored, expert advice based on our experience in advocacy and dispute resolution to enable clients to achieve their sought outcomes. We work across all areas of employment law related advice including; corporate governance, contractual arrangements and bargaining, professional requirements, personal grievances, restraints of trade, privacy and health and safety. Our barristers are highly sought after experienced counsel who regularly appear in the Employment Relations Authority and Employment Court.
Human Rights
Our barristers are passionate about human rights and experienced in the Human Rights Review Tribunal, as an area closely related to Employment Law.Discrimination claims are a growing area and our barristers are experienced in both mediation and Tribunal proceedings.
Dispute Resolution – Mediation
We provide both advocacy services within a mediation setting and expertise as private mediators. Rachel Burt is an experienced and accredited mediator through the Australasian Resolution Institute. Rachel practices in a restorative way in both in person and online mediations. Rachel was a panel mediator for New Zealand’s Sport and Recreation Complaints and Mediation Service. She is frequently asked to assist private and public organisations as a private employment mediator to facilitate inter-personal issues in teams and in connection with resolution of personal grievances.
Investigations and Reviews
A speciality focus of our chambers is workplace investigations and organisational reviews. Our barristers, Maria Austen and Rachel Burt have undertaken numerous public and private investigations for a broad range of clients throughout New Zealand enquiring into areas such as sexual harassment and bullying, gender discrimination, conflicts of interest and migrant exploitation.
We are highly conscious of the need to balance efficiency and fair process in our investigations and reviews.