What We Do

Karen Castiglione BA/LLB(Hons) has practised law in Central Otago since 2004. Before that (a long time ago) she worked in Wellington for a national law firm and the Office of the Auditor General.

Karen’s specialist areas are residential and commercial property, and resolution of relationship property issues.

In 2020, Karen embarked on a path-less-trodden for lawyers, and started selling real estate at a fixed success fee. The path has been very successful with happy vendors and happy purchasers enthusing how easy it was to sell, and buy, via a lawyer.

Karen wants to bring down the cost of selling residential real estate in New Zealand. Nothing like having a large goal to focus on!

Toni was born and raised in the Southern Lakes. After high school and university in Dunedin (BA (Hons)/LLB), followed by a good stint travelling and working overseas, it was perhaps inevitable that the mountains would eventually call her home. She returned to Wānaka to raise her children and has happily made the most of life in the mountains and being part of her home community

Toni also has postgraduate qualifications in counselling and mediation, which come in surprisingly handy in legal practice. She enjoys getting to the heart of an issue, cutting through unnecessary complexity and finding practical solutions that work for the people involved.

While Toni is always happy to troubleshoot when things go wrong, she much prefers helping clients get things right in the first place. That means putting straightforward legal arrangements in place, asking the useful “what if?” questions, and sorting out the things that are easy to put off until suddenly they aren’t.

Weka calls it “preventative life admin”: getting the important legal stuff sorted while life is running smoothly, so there are fewer headaches when it isn’t.

Alex joined Weka Legal in 2025, bringing a mix of experience from accounting, real estate, and property management. Now making the transition into the legal field, Alex is excited to explore the conveyancing side of law and help clients through the legal aspects of property transactions. Outside of work, Alex enjoys skiing and hiking in the glorious Queenstown area.

Russell has over 30 years' experience in building and property development in Queenstown. He's the guy who knows the answers to building questions, and that type of guy is handy to have around.

Harry is our official greeter and unofficial document shredder. He likes pats and ham and cheering up any of our clients who need a bit of emotional support. He encourages our staff to head outside for a walk (as long as he goes as well), which is good for everyone's mental health.