Checketts McKay Law

06/09/2026

Checketts McKay Law is teaming up with Westpac’s local Home Lending Experts for a free Home Buying & Construction Seminar in Cromwell.

Whether you’re looking to buy your first home, make your next move, or are considering building in Central Otago or the Queenstown Lakes, come along and hear from local professionals who can help you understand the process.

We’ll be covering:
• The home buying journey
• Deposits – Bank vs Agreement
• The technical aspects of a home loan
• Westpac’s home loan offerings
• Legal considerations when buying or building

Tuesday 29 September
5:30pm – 7:00pm
Cromwell & Districts Presbyterian Church
10 Elspeth Street, Cromwell

There’ll also be an opportunity to ask questions of Westpac’s local Home Lending Experts and experienced solicitors from Checketts McKay Law.

No registration required - just come along on the night!

We’d love to see you there.

03/09/2026

Checketts McKay Law is proud to sponsor the Secondary Under 18 Award at WoolOn Creative Fashion Event 2026, supporting and celebrating the incredible creativity of our region’s young designers.

A huge congratulations to this year’s winner, Bella Donaldson, with her beautiful creation “Inherited”. Bella transformed 100% woollen blankets gifted by her grandparents into a unique, nature-inspired garment, giving something treasured a wonderful new life.

We love being able to support events like WoolOn that showcase local talent, encourage our young people to have a go, and celebrate the creativity and innovation we have right here in Central Otago.

Congratulations Bella, and well done to all of the talented designers who took part.

01/09/2026

We were incredibly proud to support four talented NZ Youth Curlers on their journey to the Lillehammer Youth Curling Camp in Norway, accompanied by our very own Bridget Becker. They joined young athletes from around the world for an unforgettable taste of life as an Olympic and professional curler.

Over five action-packed days, the team took part in on-ice training, fitness sessions, nutrition and healthy cooking classes, learnt from Olympic medallists and even tackled the 936 steps of the Lillehammer Ski Jump!

The experience has left these young athletes even more motivated to pursue their dreams of becoming world-class and, hopefully one day, Olympic curlers.

At Checketts McKay Law, we’re delighted to be able to support young people from our communities as they chase some pretty big dreams.

Congratulations to the team on an amazing experience. We can’t wait to see where curling takes you next!

27/08/2026

Today is a very special (and slightly bittersweet!) day at Checketts McKay Law as we farewell the wonderful Carol Williams and wish her all the very best for retirement.

Carol’s working life has taken her through councils, banks and law firms, but for the past 25 years, we’ve been incredibly lucky to have her as part of the Checketts McKay Law family.

Over that time, Carol has shared an enormous amount of knowledge and experience, helped countless clients and colleagues, and become such a valued part of our firm. Her contribution over the years has been immense, and it’s fair to say the office simply won’t be quite the same without her.

Carol, you will be missed immensely, but after such an incredible career, retirement is very well deserved.

We hope this next chapter brings plenty of adventures, time to enjoy the things you love, lots of travel and, most importantly, no Monday morning alarm clocks!

From all of us at Checketts McKay Law, thank you for an amazing 25 years, Carol. We wish you a long, happy and adventure-filled retirement.

20/08/2026

Big congratulations are in order at Checketts McKay Law!

Angela Walker, Becky Slade and Cath Bonsor have all achieved Fellow membership with Legal Executives New Zealand and we couldn't be prouder.

Anyone who knows what it takes to get there will know this isn't easy. It takes years of hard work and dedication and their commitment shows. Between the three of them, Angela, Becky and Cath bring well over 60 years of experience at Checketts McKay Law to our team.

Fellow membership is the most senior title a legal executive can achieve and it means Angela, Becky and Cath are now authorised to take statutory declarations for our clients - a great example of how our team keeps growing so we can offer even more to our Central Otago community.

Please join us in congratulating Angela, Becky and Cath on this fantastic achievement!

12/08/2026

Big changes are coming to workplace leave in New Zealand.

The Holidays Act 2003 is set to be replaced by the new Employment Leave Act 2026, bringing significant changes to how annual leave, sick leave and other entitlements are earned and calculated.

There’s no need to make immediate changes, but now is a good time to understand what’s coming and start planning.

Karleigh Hoera and Emma Tompkins break down the key changes and what employers need to know in our latest article. https://cmlaw.co.nz/news/the-employment-leave-act-2026/

11/08/2026

As part of our winter wellbeing initiative, the Checketts McKay Law team has been busy creating Peggy Squares for the Premmie knitting club.

Knitting needles have been coming out over morning tea breaks, while others have taken their squares home to work on in front of the fire on cold Central Otago evenings.

The squares are joined together to make blankets for premature babies in Neonatal Intensive Care Units around Aotearoa New Zealand – a wonderful initiative providing a little extra warmth, love and care where it’s needed most.

We’re pretty proud of what the team has created. A little winter wellbeing for us and a little extra warmth for some very little Kiwis.

Checketts McKay Law are proud to be your local supporters.

02/08/2026

A huge thank you to everyone who entered this year's Short Story competition. We have been blown away by the response and are incredibly grateful to everyone who shared their creativity, imagination and love of storytelling with us.

One of the highlights has been seeing entries arrive from right across Aotearoa New Zealand. From the North Island to the bottom of the South Island, it's been wonderful to see so many writers take part.

Now the judging begins! Our judges have the difficult task of reading through all of the entries before selecting this year's winners.

Thank you again to everyone who entered. We wish all of our entrants the very best of luck.

24/07/2026

Last weekend to enter!

Have you started your story yet? Or maybe it's sitting on your desk just waiting for the finishing touches...

With just one week to go until entries close on Friday 31 July, now is the perfect time to put pen to paper and submit your entry in the Checketts McKay Law Short Story Competition.

Make use of the last weekend before the closing date - we'd love to read your story.

22/07/2026

We're looking for a full-time Receptionist / Legal Assistant to join our friendly team in our Cromwell office.

This is a varied role where you'll be the welcoming face of the office while supporting our legal team with a range of administrative responsibilities, including:
- General file maintenance and document drafting
- Reception and client support
- Scheduling appointments
- Client AML compliance and deeds management

We're looking for someone who:
- Loves providing exceptional client service
- Is organised, proactive and has great attention to detail
- Is confident learning new systems and technology
- Enjoys multi-tasking and working as part of a team

If this sounds like you, we'd love to hear from you!

Send your application to [email protected]

Applications close: Friday 7 August 2026

Come and build your career with a team that's passionate about supporting our clients, our community and each other.

At Checketts McKay Law, we believe in more than just providing top-notch legal services; we believe in building a team that feels like family. With deep roots in the beautiful Central Otago region, our firm has a long-standing reputation for excellence and community engagement. We are proud to offer...