Waikato Business News March/April 2021

32 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS March/April 2021
REMARKABLE WOMEN
Senior lawyers develop
firm’s construction practice
Braun Bond and Lomas
Braun Bond and Lomas (BBL) Senior Associates Usha Keller
and Charlotta Harpur have plenty in common.
Charlotta Harpur
Both left Auckland for the lifestyle on offer south of
the Bombays, and both have a focus on construction
litigation. They are also each senior associates in the
firm that is growing its construction practice as the industry
booms.
And in a further parallel, both Charlotta and Usha are set
to work a proportion of their week from home as the firm
embraces flexibility. Charlotta is the newer of the two, after
starting with BBL on April 8. She will be commuting from her
home at Papamoa, having shifted there from Auckland with
her family a year ago.
“Joining BBL is a really good opportunity for me to broaden
what I do,” she says. “To get established in the Waikato and
also in the Bay of Plenty, continue to build my civil litigation
practice and gain some new clients and new experience.”
The role will also involve developing the business in the
Tauranga area, potentially setting up a smaller office there.
In the meantime Charlotta is likely to work remotely from
home some of the time while also regularly travelling across
the Kaimais. “It’s important to keep contact with your team
members and the social connections through work. So being
able to do both, I think will be really good.”
Born in Sweden, and gaining her law degree in the UK,
Charlotta has worked in civil litigation in New Zealand since
2009, specialising in insurance law, local government and
resource management law.
She has a lot of experience around building defects,
including leaky homes, and a range of construction issues that
overlap with resource management and subdivisions.
“Both Hamilton and Tauranga are really in a big growth
phase so that construction knowledge will be needed across
the board.
“We will be there with legal support for people when needed,
both in terms of advice around contracts and in litigation
when things go wrong.”
Living by the beach is suiting her down to the ground but
she’s not ruling out shifting to a more rural setting with a
return to the interest she had in horses when she was younger.
Meanwhile, Usha Keller is enjoying the lifestyle of a small
block outside Raglan, including looking after cows, ducks
and chickens, a far cry from the Auckland lifestyle she left
behind two years ago. Usha has a background in construction
litigation, including applying the Construction Contracts Act
as well as working on leaky building claims.
She says the firm covers an enormous range of litigation
work. Her work includes large files featuring multi-party litigation
and involving millions of dollars, but she also acts for
the one or two-person building firms right through to mum
and dad owners who have a problem with a defective home.
“What is enjoyable is helping your clients navigate
through tricky situations, understanding the processes,
and trying to get a good result for them. Litigation
can be quite complex, and houses are the biggest
investment most people have.”
Usha Keller
Going to court is the last resort, she says. “It’s expensive,
time consuming and stressful. If at all possible, we suggest
it is in everyone’s best interest to resolve things as early as
possible. Alternative dispute resolution is as much part of
our practice as going to court, but we need to make sure our
clients are in as strong a position as possible first.”
Like Charlotta, Usha is working from home two days a
week. “It’s great for me, especially living out at Raglan, I get
to cut down on travel and and spend some more time in my
beautiful little town.”
Level 1, 127 Alexandra Street, Hamilton, 3204 | Phone: 0064 7 839 0900 | www.bbllawyers.nz
205391AA
Values drive family
business success
Alignz Recruitment
Strong Samoan values are at the heart of growing
Hamilton firm Alignz Recruitment, which features
six women from the same family helping to build its
future, among them founder Meta Tyrell.
The company’s success has seen it open offices in
Auckland and Bay of Plenty, and shows what is possible for
women and Pacific people in business, says Meta’s daughter
Felila Asiata-Feausi, who is National Growth and Partnership
Manager.
Felila’s mother, Meta, said: “I want to acknowledge my
eldest sister Esther Vailisale who passed away in 2012, for
her loyalty and hard work, driving workers to and from work
and always having my back.”
Their family values and faith continue to be central to
everything they do in business, she says.
Also bringing those values to Alignz Recruitment are
Meta’s four daughters Felila, Alana Tyrell, Isabella Tyrell,
Analisa Tyrell, and her niece Lua Sao.
“My journey with Alignz Recruitment instilled in me a
deep understanding of the challenges and obstacles that can
hold a Samoan woman back from fulfilling her potential in
running a business,” Meta says.
“You need to be thick-skinned, and the three things I
always remind myself every day is: ‘know who you are’,
‘what is our purpose?’, and ‘always remember to do the right
thing’.”
HR and Project Manager Alana, who has been with
the firm almost nine years, says their parents instilled in
them the ability to create, to be innovative and to be solution
focused. They also learned the vital importance of
networking, she says.
Their parents made it clear that the business and family
were separate. “We don’t get treated any differently to all the
From left, Lua Sao, Felila Asiata-Feausi, Analisa Tyrell, Meta Tyrell, Alana Tyrell, and Isabella Tyrell
other staff, we’ve really got to earn our stripes,” Alana says.
“We probably have to work harder, which I’m actually
grateful for, because I feel like it’s made me learn faster and
be a bit more thick skinned when it comes to business and
entrepreneurship.”
Lua, who is a Senior Consultant and has been with Alignz
three years, says she values the impact they can have on
people’s lives. “What spins my wheels? Helping people and
- being PI - making a difference to the village.”
They try to stay in touch with people they have helped
into jobs and build relationships with client firms.
Team Leader Analisa, who has been with Alignz for five
years, says they have been able to help companies grow, and
that in turn boosts referrals - which make up most of their
work. Her role includes bringing in new business. “There is
a lot of work out there,” she says. “A lot of companies are
looking for workers. It’s just a case of trying to find the most
suitable people.”
Business Development Manager Isabella works in the
Auckland office, where the ethos of building relationships
is the same but where they also have to take into account
people’s travel times and higher costs. “In Auckland, your
networks are huge. You’ve got to build that friendship, that
relationship, that trust, and you’ve got to take into consideration
not just the skills, but the location.”
They are the only agency working with the NZ Rugby
Players Association, including a lot of Mitre 10 players,
many of whom are Pasifika.
Alignz Recruitment’s companies include bigger players
such as Higgins, CB Civil and Dempsey Wood along with
medium to small firms. Felila says they give the same
attention to all their clients. “We’ve been going through this
journey together.”
As Meta says: “The ethos, ethics and approach of
Alignz Recruitment have achieved extraordinary results and
have been proven to work for people of all ethnicities and
backgrounds. The teams in Waikato, Auckland and Bay of
Plenty provide confidence, tools and pathways to everyone,
continuing to build relationships and make a lasting
contribution to the community.”
Alignz Recruitment
Phone: 07 855 2743 | Level 1, Unit 1C Cnr Peachgrove Rd & Fifth Ave, Five Cross Roads
Website: www.alignzrecruitment.co.nz/ | Email: reception@alignzrecruitment.co.nz
205378AA