After 32 years as a solicitor and 14 years as a litigation partner with Martelli McKegg, Andrew Steele has decided to join Princes Chambers as a barrister sole beginning from 1 October.

Andrew has over 30 years' experience in civil litigation and was a partner at Chamberlains, before becoming a partner at Martelli McKegg in 2006. At Princes Chambers he will be specialising in civil litigation with an emphasis on trust and estate disputes.

After 15 years, Andrew says the decision was difficult, but the motivation to practise on his own was a case of carpe diem.

"The partners and staff of Martellis are ‘to a person’ fantastic, so while I leave my friends there with genuine sadness, I am content that I leave the firm in ‘good heart’ – it has never been stronger and its future is bright," Andrew says.

"It was simply time to launch out from being a litigation generalist, a role I’ve had for over 30 years, to focus on new challenges with a greater focus on the area of law that sparks my passion."

"I have had the pleasure and privilege of working with some of the profession’s foremost practitioners in the field with my role on the ADLS Trusts Committee. This whet my appetite to expand my knowledge of all things trust and equity-related and prompted me to present seminars with the ADLS and NZLS and write articles for the NZ Law Journal. I will continue in that vein."