GUIDING GENERATIONS
A global legal career meets a pull back home, as Rebecca Steens brings international expertise to Tauranga’s ever-changing wealth and succession landscape.
WORDS PIP CROMBIE | PHOTOS DEBORAH DE GRAAF
There’s no place like home, or so the adage goes. It certainly proved true for the most recent female partner to join Holland Beckett, Rebecca Steens. She and her husband, Michael, were feeling quite settled after four years in Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands. The active, outdoorsy lifestyle they enjoyed on the self-governing British Crown Dependency, located around 20km off the French coast, was offset by the rich mix of French and British history and culture on offer. Rebecca loved her rewarding role specialising in trust litigation within an international context, but New Zealand and family tugged them home in late 2019, only a few months before COVID-19 unleashed lockdowns and other restrictions.
“While it was the close of a wonderful part of our lives, the draw of home and all that offers was the right decision in the end,” explains Rebecca.
Nearly seven years on, as a highly regarded succession and estate planning lawyer with more than 12 years’ experience advising clients on trusts, estates, succession planning and asset protection, Rebecca says her life and background have brought focus to her practice.
“My life so far – the diverse travel, living and working overseas, being a daughter, wife, mother, first home buyer, working parent… all have brought a different perspective to me as an estate planning lawyer, and a partner at Holland Beckett.”
Rebecca's husband Michael runs an engineering business specialising in marine welding, giving her an appreciation of the day-to-day workings and challenges faced by small, industry-specific businesses. That said, she feels at ease with a diverse range of locals and large business owners, having grown up during the burgeoning Bay of Plenty growth phase, in an economy driven by orcharding, ocean industries, port expansion and extensive property development. Like others at Holland Beckett, her significant international experience contributes to the comprehensive legal services on offer by the firm.
In late 2019, Rebecca joined Holland Beckett as a senior solicitor in the firm’s litigation team. She transitioned into the Succession, Trusts and Estates team in 2021, where her leadership has been instrumental in shaping its growth and reputation. “We’re living in a time of the biggest intergenerational shift of wealth from the Baby Boomer generation,” she says. “The recipients of the trusts set up by that ageing generation do not always live in New Zealand. There are tax implications, the division of wealth is not as straightforward as people may believe – many don’t even know where their money will go if they don’t have a will. There’s often an assumption it goes to their wife or husband, but this is being challenged in real life as the Administration Act 1969 [which deals with rules on intestacy] is not consistent with the way we live now.”
Rebecca feels driven to ensure her clients have a clear understanding about the value and division of their wealth, no matter what size it is. She says the increase in blended families, relationship disputes, dependents living with disabilities needing life-long care, those with terminal health diagnoses – all manner of life situations – deserve transparency and guidance in ensuring their wishes are met, and not open to dispute by those left behind.
Joining the now 17-strong partnership at one of Bay of Plenty’s largest legal firms felt right to Rebecca. She describes a law partnership as a relationship and in the way of any relationship, had a clear understanding of what she could bring to it.
Rebecca’s happy to report it has been a completely positive move. “It has enriched my life. The support I’ve had from the partnership and my team to get where I am has been so valued. I navigated the added responsibilities through parental leave and two very young children. Having such a strong female presence in the partnership [seven of the 17 partners are women] is something I appreciate, as is the depth and breadth of experience in our partnership.”
Holland Beckett prides itself on its community involvement, with one of its initiatives being free Wills Month in September. Sponsorship of various awards, a diverse range of charities, pro bono work… the firm is engaged in doing its bit. With 50 staff in 2012, the growth to over 160 by 2025 has seen the need to move to larger premises. Rebecca joins the partnership at the start of this exciting next chapter for the firm, now based in a purpose-built, modern space on The Strand in Tauranga – future looking, with room to expand. Now that Rebecca and Michael’s children are three and four, they’re looking forward to returning to adventurous outdoor activities – cycling, hiking and water pursuits – and hopefully as time allows, travelling intrepidly with their young family.