Change at law firm

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 14, Issue 674, 18 February 1997, Page 6

Change at law firm

Last Thursday saw a change of legal representation in the Ohakune District Court when Wayne Heedegen of Harris Harvey Nash took over court work from Eric Forster who has moved to take up another legal appointment in Hastings. Wayne Heedegen who was born in Auckland and lived in Te Awamutu from the age of six qualified for his law degree at Waikato University in Hamilton and was admitted to the bar in May 1996. After graduation he travelled through New Zealand for 2-3 months and.then acted as legal adviser to a polytechnic in Hamilton. He joined Harris Harvey Nash at the end of last month and, having only spent time "passing through Ohakune on previous occasions, has expressed the opinion that it is "a nice place" now that he has had an opportunity to get to know the town and its people better. Eric Forster left to join McDonald, Brummer in Hast-

ings on 10 February. One of the reasons for his move is to pursue his interest in more criminal, civil and employment court work. Here in Ohakune all trials are by judge alone whereas in Hastings he will have an opportunity to represent defendants in jury trials as well. Originally from the Hutt Valley, Eric graduated from Otago University in 1 994 and gained admittance to the bar in May 1995. He has enjoyed his 18 months in Ohakune and taken advantage of the outdoor recreational activities such as skiing, touch rugby and tramping. He has also learnt to fish during his stay in the Waimarino. He would like to thank the local community for the support and hospitality shown to him and hopes to return from time to time to do some skiing when the opportunity arises. He will be able to see if the mountain is smoking from the top of Te Mata Peak.