Alice Balme and Jenna Adamson are living the dream as they fly the flag for prominent national law firm Wynn Williams from their Queenstown CBD office.

Alice launched the firm’s presence in Queenstown some 18 months ago after relinquishing her role of five years as general counsel of the Queenstown Lakes District Council.

“It seemed a natural fit for me to join Wynn Williams and my work with the QLDC gives me a unique perspective on the issues government clients face and how best to respond in a political and pressured environment.”

Specialising in local government and environment law Alice is often engaged to advise on contentious resource consent and district plan issues in various parts of the country and frequently acts for clients on resource consent appeals and judicial review proceedings in the Environment Court and High Court.

“My attraction to Wynn Williams for me is that we are a full service law firm working throughout New Zealand which means I can provide our local clients additional support from a wider team ,” she says. “ The key benefit is the already established understanding of their business so there’s no loss of knowledge and understanding that can happen with a series of independent advisors – rather it’s just building layer upon layer.”

“This means no job is too big or too small for our Queenstown office,” she says. “We are the gateway for our local clients to gain access to the resources of Wynn Williams, with specialists in every field except tax. We handle the relationship and help manage and oversee it and clients can be confident they’re getting the very best advice from across the firm.”

Early in 2022 Alice was joined as a partner in the Queenstown office by Jenna Adamson whose focus is on commercial property.

She previously led an award-winning real estate team in a top performing company in Australia advising major clients and institutional landlords on issues such as complex commercial, retail and industrial leasing, property developments and sales and acquisitions.

“Prior to making New Zealand home again after Covid-19 I was in-house counsel for L’Oréal Australia and New Zealand. While working remotely from Wanaka and Queenstown during the pandemic I fell in love with the region and people here and didn’t want to leave.”  

The opportunity to join Wynn Williams, which now has a staff of seven based in Queenstown, arose and her decision was influenced to by the law firm’s national and international reach and its refreshingly proactive approach to the delivery of legal services.

 Although based in the Whakatipu Basin Jenna successfully advises major Australasian retail clients around their requirements both in New Zealand and offshore. She was recently appointed to the Property Council New Zealand’s national retail committee charged with advocating for the retail sector around their property related needs – now and in the future as the face of retail evolves.

Wynn Williams recognised the potential growth of Queenstown in the tourism, construction, property development and retail sectors which was a significant motivation for opening a local office.

“We are in an ideal position to support the region as it emerges after a tough few years with lockdowns and border closures,” says Jenna. “ Confidence is starting to rebuild and people have more certainty and we are able to provide commercial advice across the board, enabling clients to lead the way for New Zealand.”

Alice and Jenna are actively profiling Wynn Williams in the Queenstown community. They hosted the inaugural Winter Pride lunch during the 2021 ski season which was an outstanding success and even, as a pair, took line honours in the annual Rotary Club charity duck race.

“ We love what we do and there is so much more to achieve. Along with our local client base our profile is growing and we are developing many close connections throughout the community.”

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