Promoting Abilities
7
Vanassa McGoldrick
A
s CEO of Tiaho Trust I interviewed Vanassa McGoldrick. I have known her for over 20 years and remembered the first time seeing her when I was 12 years old. We were both getting on the same plane (we both had a disability) and she gave me a charming smile. She has also been a Chairperson of Tiaho Trust. I started by asking her what her impairment was. She replied “it’s called Nail-patella Syndrome an extremely rare condition. To my knowledge I was the first person born with it in New Zealand. It affects your kneecaps, some people are born with partial, deformed or no kneecaps, abnormal finger or toe nails, and this is a definite indicator that you have the gene. I was born with no kneecaps or cartilages, no quadriceps muscles in my thighs, which meant that without these, I couldn’t walk.” Her parents first advice from doctors was to amputate her legs as she would not be able to walk. Her parents didn’t agree with that advice and sought specialist advice in England. Various surgeries were performed in England and New Zealand over the years and she is still walking. I asked about her career, I remember her once saying that her parents encouraged her when quite young to becoming the typist from hell. She started the rendition of her vocational journey “I was 16 when I wanted to become a lawyer and was at high school where I was told that there were no Accessible
Universities in New Zealand. Therefore my chances of pursuing that career were zero. I was told forget the dream of going to University and being a lawyer, learn to type. So, I thought if that is all that I could be then I would be THE BEST typist. Vanassa was a Stenographer for 3 years at the Whangarei District Courthouse and when she was 21 years old, she took her 130 words per minute skills to London. She said she didn’t have a problem getting employment. “It was about my skills not my crutches. Most
employers when they look at you turning up at an interview all they see is the disability so it is important that you can prove you are better than anyone else for the position”. On her return to New Zealand her desire to be a lawyer never went away, so she trained as a Legal Executive doing papers via correspondence on property, estates and litigation. Vanassa did Legal Executive work for 20 years including working for Henderson Reeves who supported her her dream of being a lawyer. Mark Hennigan from the Law Faculty at Otago University agreed to help by allowing her to work from a distance for the majority of the law degree. This was not possible at any University at the time. All she needed was someone to tape the lectures and send them to her, which was what they did. In her first year she passed one exam with over 90%. She achieved her law degree and in 2012 was admitted to the Bar, while still working 30 hours per week at Henderson & Reeves. Vanassa opened her own law firm in July 2019 specialising in family law, with a particular passion for helping those who need legal aid. Each year she runs a Will Special and donates money to local charities. For the past 2 years she has supported the Miriam Centre – this year it will be Hospice – so watch out for her will special in July this year with wills at half price. Vanassa has gone from a typist from hell to a lawyer from heaven.
MCGoldrick Law We specialise in Family Law, dealing with Care of Children matters, Family Violence and Relationship Property. We can also sort out your will and powers of attorney for property and personal care and welfare. In situations where a loved one has lost mental capacity and there is an urgent need to place them in a resthome or deal with their property, we can assist you with the court applications. We also assist with disability law and ACC claims. Come and see our friendly team for all of your family legal needs. You can contact us on 09 438 4999. Our offices are located at 8/58 Bank Street (in the arcade between the Quest Apartments on Bank Street and the back of Farmers).
