Meet the team

David Gibbs

Phone: 09 537 1600 Ext 1
david@gmllawyers.co.nz 

David was born and educated in the United Kingdom and qualified as a solicitor, practicing in London for five years before emigrating to New Zealand 40 years ago.

Since then, David has practised in South Auckland, mainly in the areas of property, trusts, administration of estates, negotiation of relationship property agreements, commercial law, business sales and purchases, leasing and investments.
 
David's philosophy has been to build long-standing relationships with clients and provide a first port of call for clients with legal issues.  That has resulted in strong client bonds and friendships, and the opportunity to share in the making of important decisions for them.   He has  always strived for integrity in dealings with clients and other professionals.  Being fair has always been important for David and he abhors injustice in all its forms.
 
David is married with three adult children and several grandchildren.  His interests outside the law are boating, golf, reading, cinema, and travel, and of course, family and friends.
 

Valerie Mills

Valerie commenced working for David Gibbs in November 1990 after 4 years at Wadsworth Norton in Otahuhu. She joined David as a partner in 1998.

Valerie  practises mainly in the areas of property, business sales and purchase, family, trusts and estates.

“I like the ‘people’ side of the job.  I aim to make the process of buying and selling as stress-free as possible, especially for first home buyers. My objective is to ensure I offer personal and practical advice so that clients can achieve the best possible outcomes”
Valerie works closely with her assistant Joy Peagram – a qualified legal executive with over 20 years’ experience of legal work.

Now that Valerie’s 4 children have flown the coop, and the 3 French hens, Dominique, Mirabelle and Lisette, have replaced them, she is enjoying being a granny, walking, sewing, gardening but most of all playing heaps of scrabble!
 

Carol Livingstone

Phone: 09 537 1600 Ext 5
DDI: 09 532 8152
carol@gmllawyers.co.nz

Carol was born and raised on the North Shore in Auckland and left secondary school moving straight into a secretarial/office role. Some years later, while in her 20s, she decided that a career in the law would be perfect.  As an Adult Student, Carol gained a Bachelor of Arts degree (majoring in Geography) from Auckland University in 1993 and then in 1994 travelled to Christchurch and studied part-time at Canterbury University for her law degree while working full time.  Christchurch became Carol's second 'home' and she has a particular affinity with the city and its people. 
 
Carol has a keen interest in all aspects of property law.  Many people have commented on her extremely down-to-earth manner and that she is able to explain things in a way which is clear and understood.  This is one reason why Carol has developed a great relationship with her many clients, as well as other professionals dealing within the broad field of property including real estate agents, mortgage brokers, banks, property educators, and of course other legal colleagues.  
 
For some years, Carol has given a range of talks to many different groups of people on legal issues surrounding property – these have included property investors, Rotary, the elderly looking to sell their homes and move into retirement living, and various Church groups. First-time home buyers are also a section of people that Carol enjoys working with to help them through the daunting process involved in buying their first home.  
 
In her spare time, Carol enjoys mucking about on her life-style block in Clevedon with her husband, dogs, cat and chooks.  She enjoys gardening, cooking, watching most sports, and has a particular interest in horses and harness racing and is the co-owner of a trotter. 

Jane Belthazar

Phone: 09 537 1600 Ext 7
jane@gmllawyers.co.nz

Jane Belthazar is a graduate of the University of Auckland with a Bachelor of Commerce degree.  Her majors are Economics and International Business. Jane’s interest has always been in commerce, particularly international business.
 
Having worked in various roles in the legal sector for most of her working life, branching into the commercial world, particularly at a time when the global markets were severely affected by the recent global financial crisis, proved impossible. On her daughter’s advice, she returned to university to continue her second degree while politicians sought to repair the damaged global economy.  Jane is a graduate of AUT Law School, the baby law school of New Zealand. 
 
Her area of interest in law, not surprisingly, is commercial law.  She has a keen interest in commercial contract drafting.  Her other areas of interests are property, trusts, company,  resource management, environmental, tax, cyberspace, sports and employment law. 
 
Jane’s spare time is spent with family, friends and DIY projects around her home.
 

Tracey Paskell

Phone: 09 537 1600 Ext 2
tracey@gmllawyers.co.nz
 

Joy Peagram

Nicola Stockman

Phone: 09 537 1600 Ext 6
nicola@gmllawyers.co.nz
 

Natalia Kourenkova

Phone: 09 537 1600 Ext 0
natalia@gmllawyers.co.nz