Expert assistance with all aspects of Employment Law
What I do:
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I am a specialist employment lawyer, offering advice and advocacy on a wide range of matters including:
- Personal grievances
- Disciplinary issues
- Performance issues
- Redundancies
- Restraint of trade clauses
- Confidential information
- Discrimination, harassment and bullying
- Protected disclosures
- Pre-employment issues
- Exit packages
My aim is to provide a no-nonsense, cost-effective ser​​​​​​vice which gets good results as quickly as possible.
I have many years of experience in employment mediations and I am available to assist parties to mediate and resolve their disputes outside the court system.
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I also carry out/assist with investigations into alleged misconduct in or outside the workplace.
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As well as employment law, I have extensive experience in general civil and commercial litigation.
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In early 2024, I adopted the name Godley Chambers for my practice, to reflect the heritage of Christchurch and Canterbury, where I was born, raised and educated.
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About me
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After completing a degree in English literature in 1999, I spent most of my 20s traveling and working as an English language teacher, including 3 years in Japan. I then decided to settle down a bit and pursue a legal career here in my hometown of Christchurch. I graduated LLM(Hons) from the University of Canterbury in April 2010.
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I commenced practice in mid-2009 with the litigation team in a leading Christchurch law firm and was admitted to the bar in October 2009.
In early 2012, I moved to another large Christchurch firm where I practised for about 2 years before accepting a full-time position as a lecturer in the School of Law at the University of Canterbury. My teaching at the University included Employment Law, Insurance Law, Contract Law and Company Law.
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I became qualified to practise on my own account as a barrister in mid-2017 and undertook various pieces of work for other barristers in the years following.
I left the University and commenced practice as a barrister full-time in June 2020.
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I am based in Christchurch but available to assist clients throughout New Zealand, especially in regional parts of the South Island.
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In my spare time I am a mad-keen trout and salmon fisherman - when I'm not at work or taxi-driving for my two daughters, I'll be plotting my next trip into the backcountry.
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Contact details:
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E: henry@hhbarrister.com
P: 021 253 3078
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Level 2 Suite 9 Bonnington House
225 High Street Christchurch New Zealand
+64 21 253 3078