Leading specialist employment law firm Kiely Thompson Caisley has elevated Hannah King to the position of Partner effective 1 December 2024. King, who was admitted to the bar in 2012, has enjoyed a varied career which has included several years at another top law firm in Auckland.
Welcoming King into the senior role, Executive Partner Scott Worthy describes her as an exceptional practitioner with extensive experience in all aspects of employment law. “Hannah has worked in boutique, medium-sized and large law practices. She instinctively understands the needs of our clients and is focused on finding practical and cost-effective solutions to their employment issues,” he says.
King has enjoyed a long relationship with the law. After summer clerking with Young Hunter Lawyers in Christchurch, she graduated from the University of Canterbury in 2012 with a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws with Honours. The same year she was admitted to the bar.
The multi-talented King then took two years to study music, before returning to New Zealand as a lawyer up north with Whangārei’s WRMK Lawyers. Her first encounter with the firm where she is now a partner came in early 2017, when she took up the position of Solicitor with KTC, working her way up from Senior Solicitor to Associate by 2019. After holding this position for a further two years, King moved to MinterEllisonRuddWatts where she was promoted to Senior Associate, before returning to KTC in mid-2024.
“I’m excited to continue practising law in partnership with some of the most experienced and well-regarded practitioners in the field, alongside our exceptional team,” says King. “We have an outstanding range of clients at KTC, many of which are engaged in exciting ventures contributing significantly to Aotearoa New Zealand’s economy and society. It is rewarding to partner with clients to navigate the law as they carry out that work.”
Having practised law for almost ten years, employment law emerged as a specialist focus early on. “I’ve been fortunate in building a significant and varied knowledge having worked in a general practice firm in regional New Zealand, a large top-tier firm, and the specialist firm to which I have returned,” King says.
King’s experience spans the full range of contentious and advisory employment law issues, including privacy, health and safety and human rights matters arising in the workplace. When it comes to the most confronting and sensitive issues that arise in the workplace, King is particularly adept at supporting clients to manage risk, find practical solutions and deliver the best outcomes.
She has experience in pursuing and defending personal grievance claims and interim applications, and advising clients on workplace investigations, bullying, discrimination and harassment issues. King is also experienced in conducting workplace investigations. She partners with clients conducting disciplinary, performance management, restructuring and redundancy, and medical capacity processes, and frequently advises clients on the protection of confidential information, restraints of trade, and complex entitlements and Holidays Act issues.
King has a wealth of experience in dispute resolution. She regularly represents parties at mediation and draws on significant experience appearing before the Employment Relations Authority, Employment Court, District Court, High Court and Court of Appeal.
A champion for diversity and innovation, she takes a ‘pay it forward’ approach to career development. “I’ve been supported incredibly generously throughout my career to date by multiple people, including the five who are about to become my partners. Being a partner now means doing everything I can to support the next generation of lawyers on their journey.”
Already an award-winning lawyer, the 2022 and 2023 Doyle’s Guide New Zealand Employment and Work Health and Safety Rising Star looks forward to working with KTC’s clients as a trusted partner to manage people risk. “Businesses are all about people, and through my work, I help navigate workplace challenges and provide support on new initiatives and opportunities for change,” King says.
Despite a demanding work schedule, King remains connected to the performing arts world. She enjoys learning new languages, too, including te reo Māori and German, is a keen traveller, and takes an interest in genealogy.
Worthy notes that King has already made significant contributions to the firm and its clients. “We therefore enthusiastically welcome her to the partnership,” he concludes.
