As a child of divorced parents, a step-mother and mother, Selina understands the importance, and the challenges, of achieving an amicable separation and co parenting after separation. She is committed to helping families move through their difficult times without the Family Court’s intervention. This commitment led her to seek out specialist training as a mediator and a Collaborative Law professional. She regularly attends international education events to ensure her knowledge and skills are at the leading edge of resolution practice.

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With over 27 years’ experience as a family lawyer, Selina has practiced in all areas of family law but these days, her main interests are:

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• Helping families respectfully resolve their legal issues as they transition through a separation, divorce or other legal issue. 

• Helping with the legal issues surrounding forming your family through adoption, surrogacy or assisted reproduction.

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Selina is a member of the Institute of Directors and has served in governance roles for not-for-profit organisations. She is a past Chair of Collaborative Resolution NZ. She is currently serving on the Board of Directors of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (IACP), the first New Zealander to be appointed to this role. In June 2024 she will become only the second person outside North America to serve as President of IACP. 

 

Selina is also active in law reform. Most recently, she was part of a working group that prepared the NZ Law Society's submissions to the Law Commission in its review of surrogacy law and she presented the NZ Law Society's submission on surrogacy law reform to Parliament's Health Committee. In 2022, she was named a recipient of a Borrin Foundation travel & learning award that enabled her to attend the International Surrogacy Forum in Denmark and further her work in surrogacy law reform. She currently is a member of the NZ Law Society's Family Law Section Advisory Panel which works on submissions about proposed legislation.​

 

An engaging speaker and educator, Selina regularly presents seminars, conference workshops and trainings for lawyers and has taught, guest lectured and judged moot courts at Auckland’s two Universities.

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Away from work and her voluntary commitments, Selina is usually found spending time with her family, cooking, curating her Pinterest page with her renovation plans, or shamelessly binge-watching Bravo.