Reids Family Law is a specialist family law firm based at 61 Bloomfield Terrace in Lower Hutt, serving clients across the Wellington region. Its tagline — Justice | Integrity | Passion — reflects a practice built around clients rather than cases: the firm's stated aim is to bring the practice of law and legal advice back to where it matters most, the people it acts for.
What sets Reids apart is its culture of teamwork. When you instruct the firm you are represented by a team of lawyers, giving you access to the collective experience of more than 70 years in family law practice. Partners Paul Reid, Karen Pearce, Emily Bruce and Fran Lints work alongside senior solicitor Megan Gorman and solicitors Charlotte Love and Lyle Swainson, supported by practice manager Fiona Reid, personal assistant Fran Busby and legal secretary Bre Jordan.
Access is central to the firm's philosophy. Reids believes everyone is entitled to legal representation irrespective of ethnicity, cultural background or financial position. It has deliberately reduced its hourly rates compared with other firms, and is committed to undertaking family legal aid work without compromising the quality of representation legal aid clients receive.
Confidential appointments can be arranged by phone or through the website contact form, and the office is open Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm.
Family law issues are among the most personal matters anyone brings to a lawyer. Reids Family Law, based in Lower Hutt, has built its whole practice around meeting people well in those moments. It is a specialist family law firm — every lawyer there works in family law — and its tagline, Justice | Integrity | Passion, is a fair summary of how it presents itself: principled, straightforward and firmly on the client's side.
The firm's stated aim is to bring the practice of law and legal advice back to where it matters most: the client. Culture is something Reids talks about proudly, describing it as what sets the firm apart, with a collective approach to the representation of clients in which lawyers combine and share their experience.
The most distinctive thing about Reids is how it staffs its files. When you instruct the firm, you are represented by a team of lawyers rather than a single practitioner — which means every client draws on the collective experience of more than 70 years in family law practice. The firm describes this collective approach, combining and sharing experience across the team, as central to its culture and to achieving the best possible results.
The team is led by four partners: Paul Reid, Karen Pearce, Emily Bruce and Fran Lints. They are joined by senior solicitor Megan Gorman and solicitors Charlotte Love and Lyle Swainson. Behind them sits an experienced support team: Fiona Reid as practice manager (Kaiwhakahaere), Fran Busby as personal assistant to Paul Reid, and legal secretary Bre Jordan. The firm lists its roles bilingually, in English and te reo Māori, and each lawyer publishes a direct dial and email on the website — so once someone is acting for you, reaching them directly is easy.
Reids is equally deliberate about access. The firm believes everyone is entitled to legal representation irrespective of ethnicity, cultural background or financial position, and it acts on that belief in two concrete ways. First, it has deliberately reduced its hourly rates compared with other firms, to make the law more accessible to its clients. Second, it is committed to undertaking family legal aid work — and states plainly that it will not compromise or cut corners in the representation of legal aid clients. If you are unsure whether you would qualify, the office invites you to get in touch and discuss eligibility.
Prospective clients who like to read the fine print first can download the firm's Terms of Engagement from its website before making contact.
The first step is a confidential appointment, arranged by calling the office on (04) 550 5780 or by sending a message through the contact form at reidsfamilylaw.co.nz. The firm is based at 61 Bloomfield Terrace, Lower Hutt — mail goes to PO Box 30508, Lower Hutt, Wellington 5040 — and the office is open Monday to Friday from 8am to 5pm. Reids also shares updates on its Facebook page.
For Wellington-region families who need a family lawyer, Reids offers an uncommon combination: genuine specialisation, a whole team's experience behind every file, lower hourly rates by design, and a real commitment to legal aid. It is family law practised, as the firm itself puts it, with justice, integrity and passion.