Paula J. Wilson
Ehara tāku toa i te toa takitahi engari tāku toa i te toa takitini
My strength is not that of mine alone but the collective strength of many
BA(Japanese)/LLB, University of Otago 2000; BA (Mātauranga Māori), Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi, 2012;
Of Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Whakaue and Ngāti Pakeha descent Paula is passionate about working with tangata/people and whenua/land.
Paula specialises in Māori Land Law as well as general legal practice including conveyancing, wills and estates and trust work. She is instructed by Te Kooti Whenua Māori/Māori Land Court to facilitate hui/meetings under the Special Māori Legal Aid Fund. Paula also accepts instructions from whanau for Special Māori Legal Aid Fund work relating to Māori Land including trusts, governance, administration and whānau disputes relating to whenua Māori.
Paula is part of the Henderson Reeves team who advise Pūkahakaha East 5B Trust, an ahu whenua trust with significant land holdings on the east coast of Whangārei – https://www.pukahakahaeast5btrust.co.nz/ . Paula also acted for the Ngāti Wai Trust Board in the WAI 2660 Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry into the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011 during the period 2018 to 2022. https://ngatiwai.iwi.nz/2021/11/11/takutai-moana-urgent-inquiry-closing-submissions/
A speaker of Te Reo Māori and Japanese languages, Paula was educated in Whangārei before graduating from the University of Otago with a BA (Japanese)/LLB in 1999. After graduation Paula worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade including a posting to the New Zealand Embassy, Tokyo from 2001 to 2005, then worked for the Department of Conservation from 2006 to 2014.
In 2014 Paula returned home to Whangārei where she worked in various voluntary community roles and project managed Waitangi Tribunal claims for the Whangārei hapu Treaty claims collective Te Mana Motuhake ā Rohe o Whangārei while studying for her Bar Exams. She joined Henderson Reeves in 2017 initially in the Litigation team but now practices as a part of the Commercial and Property team.
Paula is friendly and relatable. She has a gift for making clients feel comfortable and demonstrates genuine care in her approach to her clients and her mahi/work.
Outside of mahi/work Paula loves keeping fit, gardening, reading and being with her whanau. She is the current Tai Tokerau representative on Te Hunga Roia Māori (the Māori Law Society of New Zealand), is Kaituhituhi/Secretary of the King’s College Māori Advisory Committee and she is also undertaking Ministry studies with Orongonui, the Tai Tokerau Māori Anglican Church Ministry Training Wānanga