New lawyer's life skills 'invaluable'

Greg Taipari | 12th March 2010

Being a local gives him insight into the community and his knowledge on Maoridom will be invaluable. Harry Edward, lawyer A passion for giving Maori better legal representation has seen Wiremu Te Are go from probation officer to lawyer.

After eight years of working for the Rotorua Community Probation Service, Mr Te Are has this week started a new career as a lawyer at Harry S Edward Barrister and Solicitor.

His new boss, Harry Edward, said they were excited to have Mr Te Are join the team.

"When I heard he was being admitted [to the bar], I thought he would be ideal for our practice."

Mr Edward said Mr Te Are's life skills and heritage were an advantage.

"Wiremu brings quite a unique perspective to the practice of law, with his eight years in probation.

"A lot of work involves sentencing options dealing with people at a grass roots level and he is good at it. Being a local gives him insight into the community and his knowledge on Maoridom will be invaluable."

During his time with the probation service, Mr Te Are saw many Maori go through the court system. With his work background and upbringing, he hopes to make a difference for Maori.

"I've been on the sideline and seen people come through the system, many of them are Maori ...

Mr Edward said the skills Mr Te Are brought to their practice would be a huge benefit for Maori.

Mr Te Are said it was an easy choice to go and work for Mr Edward's practice.

"He has done some of the big jobs in the district, you name it and he's done it. It was a no-brainer to go with him, to be honest. I'm sure there is plenty I can learn from him.

"I've seen him do things free of charge, he always has five minutes for people."