About Us

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I began my journey  in small States and territories nearly 30 years ago, on an epic drive across the Highlands Highway of Papua New Guinea with my friends Robin and Betty, and their family. We visited their villages in the Southern Highlands, narrowly escaping being robbed and giving me my first taste of travelling and living in Melanesia and the Pacific Islands.  

I quit my job as a solicitor with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in New Zealand to spend 3 months in the Highlands because of an unrelenting curiosity for people and nature.  I wanted to experience how indigenous people live and see whether they still lived the lives of their ancestors amongst the beauty and glory of the Highlands.   

Before I slipped on a muddy track left abandoned by the timber company that had stripped the nearby forest bare, I lived my dream.  I got to hunt with a traditional bow and arrows just as their ancestors  once did.   

Nursing a broken leg and living in a village, sharing stories with their wantoks, and making new friends in Port Moresby opened my eyes to their day to day problems.  At village level disputes are resolved, but  modern day governments and governance seldom meet people's expectations and needs.

 Two years later, I was drafting laws in the Crown Law Office in the Cook Islands.  An idyllic  little paradise in the Pacific, with a full range of challenges to tackle: anti-money laundering, public health, the environment, no-confidence motions, copyright, and so on.  A wonderful experience both on a personal and professional level.

My new journey as a drafter, lawyer, trainer and consultant took me to Australia, Guyana, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan and Guernsey. 

 Then finally back to the Pacific, where it all began.   Drafting the Early Childhood Care and Education Act in Kiribati, training drafters from across the Pacific Islands in New Caledonia, and drafting laws for Palau, Western Samoa and the Marshall Islands.  From climate change to fire services, and coastal fisheries to the environment, and from inception, through to consultation and then to completion.

 I am inspired by the conviction that law should benefit society,  and policy and legislation crafted to secure and safeguard future generations.  The economy, business and profit should always be tempered with good governance and sustainability.  Solving our problems today should meet our needs tomorrow and thereafter.   

Our future as a society and global community rests on laws, institutions and practices that promote good governance, prevent corruption and abuse, and regulate effectively and appropriately.

Training and sharing knowledge is an important part of the Solon Law ethos.  Apart from providing training  on legislative drafting  and legislative policy, I regularly speak at conferences and events.  For example, I delivered two presentations at the Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel (CALC) Regional Conference in Perth, Australia (2025): Crafting by Prompt: Using AI to review Instructions and Legislation and Plumber or Architect?  and Training Drafters for the 21st Century. 

 Solon Law is available for legislative drafting, policy and training projects.  Creative, cross-disciplinary and visionary in our approach, we benchmark against international standards and best practice and use best available technology to produce effective and sustainable solutions for international organisations and national governments.  Reach out and we would be happy to discuss how we can tailor our services to your needs.