Melanie Baker LLB

Principal, Lawyer & Mediator

[email protected]
Melanie Baker has been practising law in Lower Hutt since 1988. She practices in the areas of Family, Criminal, and Property Law. She is a senior Lawyer for Child, a Youth Advocate, accredited specialist family mediator, and accepts appointments as Lawyer to Assist. During her time in practice, she has conducted many hundreds of hearings in Courts at all levels, including jury trials. She is a passionate solution focused advocate who strives to obtain excellent outcomes for clients.

​Melanie was an elected member of the Council of the Wellington Branch of the New Zealand Law Society for 7 years and was a member of the Standards (Complaints) Committee for 9 years. In addition, Melanie is a member of a Legal Aid Selection Committee, a former board member of the Wellington Community Law Centre, and is a Legal Aid auditor contracted to the Ministry of Justice. She is a Board of Trustees member and chairperson at Petone Central School and a Director of Atiawa Toa FM, the local iwi Radio Station. She has been recently appointed to the Board of KidsCan.​

​Melanie has attended overseas conferences to ensure her practice is currently up to international standard. She co-presented a workshop at the 2017 Association of Family and Conciliation Courts Conference in Boston. She presented a paper at the Youth Advocates Conference in Auckland in August 2018.

​Melanie is an accredited specialist family mediator and is a Family Disputes Resolution provider contracted to Fairway Resolution Limited. She represented various crown agencies in the Royal Commission hearing into abuse in care.

​Melanie is a parent and enjoys watching her son play Rugby, keeping active and spending time with friends. She enjoys working with people of all cultures and backgrounds. She is Te Atiawa, Ngāti Mutunga and Ngāti Tama iwi on her father’s side and has Irish background on her mother’s side. Recently she has been appointed chair person of the Risk and Audit Committee for Te Rūnanganui o Te Āti Awa ki Te Upoko o te Ika a Māui whānui based at Waiwhetū Marae.

Melanie Baker LLB

Principal, Lawyer & Mediator

[email protected]

Melanie Baker has been practising law in Lower Hutt since 1988. She practices in the areas of Family, Criminal, and Property Law. She is a senior Lawyer for Child, a Youth Advocate, accredited specialist family mediator, and accepts appointments as Lawyer to Assist. During her time in practice, she has conducted many hundreds of hearings in Courts at all levels, including jury trials. She is a passionate solution focused advocate who strives to obtain excellent outcomes for clients.

​Melanie was an elected member of the Council of the Wellington Branch of the New Zealand Law Society for 7 years and was a member of the Standards (Complaints) Committee for 9 years. In addition, Melanie is a member of a Legal Aid Selection Committee, a former board member of the Wellington Community Law Centre, and is a Legal Aid auditor contracted to the Ministry of Justice. She is a Board of Trustees member and chairperson at Petone Central School and a Director of Atiawa Toa FM, the local iwi Radio Station. She has been recently appointed to the Board of KidsCan.​

​Melanie has attended overseas conferences to ensure her practice is currently up to international standard. She co-presented a workshop at the 2017 Association of Family and Conciliation Courts Conference in Boston. She presented a paper at the Youth Advocates Conference in Auckland in August 2018.

​Melanie is an accredited specialist family mediator and is a Family Disputes Resolution provider contracted to Fairway Resolution Limited. She represented various crown agencies in the Royal Commission hearing into abuse in care.

​Melanie is a parent and enjoys watching her son play Rugby, keeping active and spending time with friends. She enjoys working with people of all cultures and backgrounds. She is Te Atiawa, Ngāti Mutunga and Ngāti Tama iwi on her father’s side and has Irish background on her mother’s side. Recently she has been appointed chair person of the Risk and Audit Committee for Te Rūnanganui o Te Āti Awa ki Te Upoko o te Ika a Māui whānui based at Waiwhetū Marae.