Our Team
Paula Yakas
Paula is a lawyer, a manager and a business owner. She enjoys helping people, and working with them to find solutions to their problems. Sometimes this starts by identifying a problem they didn’t know they had!
Her work includes buying and selling all types of residential and commercial property, buying and selling businesses, formation and administration of estate and asset planning structures (trusts), relationship property agreements, and just about everything else. She enjoys leading a team, and creating systems that improve the way they do business.
Paula works with Machaela to lead the firm forward to achieve their values and goals. Her main drivers are honesty, integrity and perseverance. She brings huge professionalism and understanding, as well as a good dose of humour to work each day.
Email: paula@thelawshop.co.nz
Areas of Expertise
Property & Business Law
Liz Yakas
Liz has a diverse educational background and work history which make her uniquely qualified for the role of office administrator and practice manager.
Liz leverages her varied experiences to effectively handle the day-to-day operations, coordinate tasks , and ensure the smooth functioning of our busy practice. Plus, her ability to adapt and learn from different environments is a valuable asset in handling the various challenges that arise.
In case you were wondering about the surnames, Liz is Paula’s sister.
Email: reception@thelawshop.co.nz
Areas of Expertise
Administration
Machaela Forbes
From 1 November 2023, Machaela has become a director of The Law Shop Limited having worked here as a lawyer since 2017.
Conveyancing – residential & business sales/purchases, leases, occupation licences; refinancing, guarantees, GSA’s; company matters including partnership/shareholders agreements; Wills & EPA’s; gifting, estates and trust affairs are some of the many things Machaela deals with on a daily basis.
Integrity, compassion and conscientiousness are important to her, and she takes great pride in seeing genuinely happy clients when she has gone above and beyond to get them a great result. This could be a last minute restructure to assist a client in purchasing a second home, or getting a KiwiSaver application approved when it was initially declined.
Machaela says she finds the law interesting, as it is forever changing and affects everybody. She enjoys the challenge of finding new ways to look at and solve issues, and helping people with some of their biggest decisions in life.
Email: machaela@thelawshop.co.nz
Areas of Expertise
Property Law
Adele Ransley
Adele first started at the law shop as a legal secretary in 2009. Since then she has completed her New Zealand Diploma in Legal Executive Studies in 2021 and also holds a Trust Accountant certificate, a National Tourism and Travel certificate, a certificate in Business Administration, plus computing, office systems and technology credentials. She says she didn’t choose the law, it chose her.
Adele is an integral part of the property team where she works on conveyancing, mortgages (new, variation, discharge), and Wills. She enjoys going above and beyond while helping clients into their first home.
Email: adele@thelawshop.co.nz
Areas of Expertise
Property Law