Every case has a gap
nobody found.
Employment disputes. Examined process by process.
90 days to act. The deadline is the case.
— The first conversation is free.
Two situations. One practice.
one process, one outcome.
You were fired, pushed out, or treated unfairly
Maybe you didn't get a real chance to explain yourself. Maybe the decision felt made before the meeting. Maybe you raised something and things got worse. You may not know your exact rights yet — most people don't. What you probably do know is that something wasn't right. The question is whether anyone has actually looked at what happened.
You received a personal grievance, or need to end employment properly
The most common thing employers say when a grievance lands is: we followed the process. Sometimes that's true. More often, the documentation was right but the process underneath it wasn't. Whether you've just received a grievance letter, you're mid-investigation, or you want to know if your processes are solid before anything goes wrong — a review now costs a fraction of what a dispute costs later.
We don't follow process.
We audit it.
Every employer said they followed the process.
Every letter was correctly drafted.
We go back to the system that didn't hold.
What this practice covers.
one process, one outcome.
Unfair dismissal and personal grievances
You were fired or pushed out and you want to know if you have a case and what to do about it.
Disciplinary process support
You're in a disciplinary process — investigation, meeting, or waiting for an outcome — and you need someone in your corner who knows what should be happening.
Workplace investigations
Independent investigation reports for employers who need a process that will hold up, run by someone with no stake in the outcome.
Mediation and settlement
Representing employees and employers at mediation, and helping both sides understand what a realistic outcome looks like before they get there.
Three situations. One practice.
Most people who contact this practice fall into one of three situations. They were dismissed and they aren't sure if it was fair — but they've been told it will cost too much to find out. Or they're mid-process — a disciplinary meeting is coming, or a decision has just been made, and they don't know what their rights are right now. Or they're an employer who got a grievance letter this week and needs to respond correctly without making it worse.
A smaller number come via referral — from accountants, Community Law, unions, or other professionals who know that some matters need someone who reads the system, not just the document.
If you're not sure whether your situation fits, the first conversation costs nothing and carries no obligation.
Not argument. Audit.
An argument says your position is wrong.
A finding says here is the exact point where the system failed.
Most employment disputes are fought over the wrong thing. Both sides argue about the letter — what it says, whether the references are right, whether the steps appear in the right order. That argument can go on for months. It is almost always an argument about the surface of the problem.
Underneath the letter is a system. The system either works or it doesn't. And here is the thing that is not obvious until you have examined hundreds of these: the letter is almost always fine. Properly drafted, correctly referenced. It is the system underneath it that is broken.
Finding that gap — between what a process claims and what it actually did — is the methodology. Not argument. Audit. The difference matters.
The people who receive findings respond differently from the people who receive arguments. This is consistent, observable, and it is the reason the work from this practice lands differently.
22 years inside the system.
Ava Sanchez-Neal studied law in Colombia — civil law, Napoleonic, structural — before building a practice across New Zealand, Colombia, and Dubai. She holds the New Zealand Diploma in Legal Executive Studies, graduate training in dispute resolution and mediation from Massey University, and Lead Auditor certifications in management systems and information security through PwC's Training Academy.
She has been a Licensed Immigration Adviser for 22 years and has served on governance boards across immigration, business, and community sectors. She currently collaborates with a Palmerston North immigration law firm alongside her independent advocacy practice.
The practice is built on one observation from 22 years of working inside systems: the document and the system it describes are almost never exactly the same thing. The distance between them is where most cases live.
Three steps to resolution.
First conversation — free
Tell me what happened. No legal terms required. I'll tell you honestly whether there is something to look at and what the realistic options are.
Assessment and strategy
If it makes sense to proceed, I review what you have and map where the matter is heading — what the process requires, what the other side's position looks like, and what a realistic outcome is.
Representation and advocacy
Preparation, correspondence, mediation representation, investigation reports, or process review — depending on what the matter needs.
Matters are accepted selectively.
How this practice operates.
When pressure becomes conflict: what the fuel crisis tells us about workplace dispute resolution
How economic pressure creates conditions for workplace conflict, and why early intervention through mediation produces better outcomes than litigation.
Sixty seconds is enough to change what you know.
natural justice and fair process.
When pressure becomes conflict: what the fuel crisis tells us about workplace dispute resolution
Misconduct investigation and suspension: a practical guide for NZ employees
New Zealand tribunals: a practical guide to fair process
Practical tools to protect your position.
Workplace Investigation Response Kit
Structured response templates to protect credibility in investigations.
Mediation Preparation Pack
Build a clear mediation position and negotiate a durable outcome.
Professional Complaint Response Toolkit
Regulator-ready templates for complaints, discipline, and licensing risk.