Profile
"West Oak’s success has come from always putting our clients’ best interests first and always finding ways to improve and add more value to them"
Andrew mcquiston,
west oak family office, wellington-altus private wealth
With a career that spans being an in-house lawyer at the Queenstown Lakes District Council to partner at Wynn Williams, Alice Balme has been hailed by both clients and colleagues as “a real go-getter.”
Alice, who works with the firm’s local government and environmental law team, specialises in local government and resource management matters under the Resource Management Act and the Local Government Act. Born and raised in the Waikato, she started her career working for a Hamilton firm advising local government clients in the Waikato and beyond. Apart from a stint in the UK where she worked in-house for a central London local authority, her career has been firmly focused on advising local government clients throughout New Zealand. She frequently appears on resource consent appeals and has attended judicial review proceedings in the Environment Court and High Court.
“Alice is a problem solver by nature and enjoys the challenge that comes with some of the quirks of local government legislation and the often historic or complex issues that councils face,” Wynn Williams says. “She is a trusted pair of hands and develops strong and enduring relationships with clients.”
Prior to joining the firm, she led a team of six lawyers to manage risk and provide legal services across the Queenstown Lakes District Council. She also headed the development of a legal request management system, which made “access to legal advice much easier across the organisation and enabled more issues to be resolved more efficiently”.
“As an experienced local government lawyer, Alice’s true strength is in understanding how local government works from within,” Wynn Williams explains. “Alice’s in-house experience gives her a valuable perspective on the issues local government clients face and how to best respond in a political and pressured environment.”
“Having spent five years at QLDC, she understands that every day can be different for a local government lawyer, so we need to be agile in our approach and our ability to respond to issues as they arise.”
The firm praised Alice as being “comfortable in a politically charged environment and has considerable experience presenting to elected members.” Since joining Wynn Williams in early 2021, she has made “a significant contribution to its already significant reputation for excellence and leadership within the local government law space.”
Most recently, she led the opening of Wynn Williams’ Queenstown
office and has focused on building the firm’s team and presence in its
new market.
“Alice’s experience in the local government space means that she can anticipate when a matter might trigger specific obligations under the LGA or other relevant legislation where that might not be readily apparent,” Wynn Williams says. “With the relevance of local government and environmental law not too far removed from any business operating within New Zealand, her insight and guidance has been of enormous value to senior and junior solicitors across the firm.”
Alice is a committee member of the Resource Management Law Association’s Queenstown branch. She was also recently appointed as legal counsel to advise the Te Tai o Poutini Plan Committee on a new combined district plan for the West Coast.
Alice Balme
Partner
Wynn Williams
Read on
Special Report
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Bio
Milestones
Profile
Alice Balme
Partner
Wynn Williams
Read on
Special Report
Home
Bio
Milestones
Profile
Alice Balme
Partner
Wynn Williams
Read on
Special Report
Home
Bio
Milestones
2020
2019
2018
2020-2021
2014-2022
2020
Insurance Business Magazine | Key Media
Received Best Lawyer in Canada Award (Employment and Labour Law)
2020
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2019
Ted Talk in collaboration with key media
TeD Talk Speaker
2019
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2018
Ted Talk in collaboration with key media
title of milestone
2018
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2020-2021
Human Resources Magazine | key media
Received Lexology Client Choice Award (Labour and Employment – Canada)
2020-2021
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2014-2022
human resources | key media
Received Best Lawyer in Canada Award (Employment and Labour Law)
2014-2022
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Milestones
Career Accolades
2021-present
2015-2021
2015
2014-2015
2013-2014
2021-Present
Insurance Business Magazine | Key Media
Partner at Wynn Williams
Acknowledged by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific
2021-present
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2015-2021
Human Resources Magazine | key media
General Counsel at Queenstown Lakes District Council
2015-2021
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2015
Human Resources Magazine | key media
Solicitor at Meredith Connell
2015
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2014-2015
Human Resources Magazine | key media
Paralegal at Simmons & Simmons (London, UK)
2014-2015
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2013-2014
human resources | key media
Planning Lawyer at London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham (London, UK)
2013-2014
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Career Highlights
2021-present
2015-2021
2015
2014-2015
2013-2014
2021-present
Insurance Business Magazine | Key Media
Partner at Wynn Williams
Acknowledged by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific
2021-present
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
2015-2021
Ted Talk in collaboration with key media
General Counsel at Queenstown Lakes District Council
2015-2021
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
2015
Ted Talk in collaboration with key media
Solicitor at Meredith Connell
2015
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2014-2015
Ted Talk in collaboration with key media
Paralegal at Simmons & Simmons (London, UK)
2014-2015
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
2013-2014
Ted Talk in collaboration with key media
Planning Lawyer at London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham (London, UK)
2013-2014
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Milestones
Milestones
wynnwilliams.co.nz
www.linkedin.com/in/alice-balme-67b66535
alice.balme@wynnwilliams.co.nz
+64 22 637 8907 / +64 3 379 7622
Level 2, Te Nuku Building, 43 Ballarat Street, Queenstown 9300, New Zealand
2020
2019
2018
2020-2021
2014-2022
2020
Insurance Business Magazine | Key Media
Receive an excellence award
2020
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2019
Ted Talk in collaboration with key media
TeD Talk Speaker
2019
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
2018
Ted Talk in collaboration with key media
title of milestone
2018
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
2020-2021
Ted Talk in collaboration with key media
Received Lexology
Client Choice Award
(Labour and Employment – Canada)
2020-2021
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
2014-2022
Ted Talk in collaboration with key media
Received Best Lawyer in
Canada Award
(Employment and Labour Law)
2014-2022
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
Career Accolades
Milestones
2021-present
2015-2021
2015
2014-2015
2013-2014
2021-present
Insurance Business Magazine | Key Media
Partner at Wynn Williams
Acknowledged by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific
2021-present
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
2015-2021
Ted Talk in collaboration with key media
General Counsel at Queenstown Lakes District Council
2015-2021
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
2015
Ted Talk in collaboration with key media
Solicitor at Meredith Connell
2015
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
2014-2015
Ted Talk in collaboration with key media
Paralegal at Simmons & Simmons (London, UK)
2014-2015
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
2013-2014
Ted Talk in collaboration with key media
Planning Lawyer at London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham (London, UK)
2013-2014
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. A volutpat laoreet suscipit duis. Diam aliquam sed ut massa viverra a, eget libero.
Milestones