Costa Varuhas & Co is a law firm on Level 1, 21 Broderick Road in Johnsonville, Wellington, with a 3.4 Google rating. Suburban law firms tend to be generalists — the same desk might see a house sale, a will and a family matter in one week — so it is worth asking whether your kind of problem is one a lawyer handles regularly. Expect identity checks at a first appointment: under New Zealand's anti-money-laundering rules, lawyers must verify who you are, usually with a passport or driver's licence, before acting for you. Ask how fees will work, too; fixed prices are common for straightforward conveyancing and wills, while court work generally runs by the hour. The firms people stay loyal to for decades are usually the ones that explain things in plain English and answer the phone. For Johnsonville locals, Costa Varuhas & Co puts a neighbourhood lawyer within reach, no trip into central Wellington required.