People

Andrew Watkins

Partner

Relationship Property & Family

Recommended by The Legal 500 2021 for relationship property and contentious trusts and estates and in Doyle’s Guide 2023 for expertise in family and relationship property law.

T +64 3 379 7622 M +64 21 905 506

Specialist areas of practice

  • Relationship property disputes
  • Family law
  • Contentious trusts and estates

Andrew is one of New Zealand’s leading relationship property and contentious trusts and estates lawyers. He has specialised in the resolution of complex relationship property and estate matters, often involving numerous trusts, companies and partnership interests, for over 25 years. He is regularly called upon to act in high value and high profile relationship property and trust disputes. Having completed courses in advanced negotiation and advanced mediation at Harvard, Andrew is also a keen advocate of alternative dispute resolution and has conducted over 100 successful mediations throughout his career.

Andrew also contributes to the wider education of relationship property and is sought out by the New Zealand Law Society to provide seminars on the Property (Relationships) Act, to other practitioners. He also presents occasional lectures on relationship property at the University of Canterbury.

Andrew is a past member of the Property (Relationships) Act Committee of the NZ Family Law Section and Lawyers Engaged in Alternative Dispute Resolution (LEADR) and is currently on the organising committees for the NZLS CLE Trust Conference and Relationship Property Intensive.