Family & separation
Separation agreements, parenting arrangements and division of property, handled with as little heat as the circumstances allow.
Mediation firstIndependent practice · Since 1974
Careful counsel for the matters that decide a life.
A small practice of six lawyers handling family, property, estate and commercial work. We take on fewer files than we could, so the person who reads your papers is the person who argues them.
The first conversation costs nothing.
Bring what you have — a letter, a contract, a worry you cannot name yet. We will tell you plainly whether you have a matter, what it is likely to involve, and whether we are the right people for it.
Practice areas
The work we take on
If your matter sits outside these areas, say so in your enquiry. We would rather point you to the right practitioner than hold a file we cannot serve.
Property & conveyancing
Purchases, sales, transfers and boundary disputes, with every condition explained before you put your name to it.
Fixed fee availableWills & estates
Drafting wills, powers of attorney and estate administration, including the difficult conversations that come with them.
Home visits arrangedEmployment
Contracts, restraint clauses, dismissal and workplace grievances, advised from either side of the table.
Employee & employerCommercial & small business
Structures, leases, supply agreements and partnership terms for owner-run businesses that need answers, not memoranda.
Plain draftingDispute resolution
Negotiation, mediation and, where it cannot be avoided, litigation — with a candid view of cost against likely outcome.
Settlement focused
How we work
Three steps, and you always know which one you are on
Most people arrive unsure what happens next. So we tell you, in writing, at every stage.
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A conversation
Forty-five minutes, no charge. You explain the situation; we ask questions and give you our honest first reading of it.
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A written plan
Before any work begins you receive the steps we propose, who will do them, and what each stage will cost. Nothing starts until you agree.
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Steady progress
Regular updates in plain language, and a named lawyer who answers you directly rather than through a queue.
Counsel
Who you will actually be speaking to
Our two principals share the practice between them and each carry their own files from first meeting to final order.
Miriam Halloway
Principal · Family & estates
A career spent in family and estate work, and a trained mediator — known for keeping negotiations civil long after the parties have stopped wanting to be, and for drafting wills that survive the family reading them.
Daniel Pryce
Principal · Property & commercial
Carries the practice's property, employment and small-business work. Reads a contract the way an opponent would, and tells clients what a clause will cost them years before it does.
Before you enquire
Questions answered
The four things people most often want to know before they pick up a pen.
How are your fees worked out?
Some work — conveyancing, straightforward wills, contract review — is quoted at a fixed fee so you know the figure in advance. Litigation and family matters are charged by time, with a written estimate for each stage and a warning before any stage runs over it. You will never receive an invoice for work you were not told about first.
Is what I tell you confidential?
Yes. Everything discussed in an initial consultation is privileged and confidential, whether or not you go on to instruct us. That applies even if we conclude we are not the right practice for your matter.
How long will my matter take?
It depends far more on the other side than on us. A conveyance usually runs to the contract dates; an uncontested estate takes a few months; a contested family matter can take considerably longer. We give you a realistic range at the first meeting and revise it in writing whenever the picture changes.
What should I bring to the first meeting?
Anything in writing that relates to the matter: letters, contracts, emails, court documents, prior agreements. If you have nothing, come anyway — an accurate account of what happened and when is the most useful thing you can bring.
Request a consultation
Tell us what you are dealing with
A short outline is enough to start. One of the principals reads every enquiry personally and will reply with either an appointment time or a referral.
Sending this form does not create a lawyer–client relationship, and nothing here is legal advice. Please do not include documents or sensitive details until we have confirmed we can act for you.