The Tungsten Legal Team

Hello, I’m Sandy Dodunski, founder and principal of Tungsten Legal, New Plymouth.

I grew up in a small country town in the King Country and hopped the border to Taranaki after my nursing training.

For as long as I can remember, I had the desire to help people and to fix things when they’ve gone wrong. This led me to my first career, as a nurse at Taranaki Base Hospital in New Plymouth. The vast majority of my time nursing was spent in helping people with mental health issues. I didn’t know it at the time but this would eventually lead to my third career as a lawyer, especially after changes were made to the Mental Health Act in 1992. At that time we, as nurses, became more involved in the legalities of the mental health system.

After about 20 years of nursing I left and went to Work and Income. The benefit process is entirely governed by legislation, the Social Security Act 1964, and I again found myself working in a quasi-legal area. There were times I didn't agree with the legislation when trying to assist clients but I wasn't qualified to give them an expert opinion. So I decided to give up nursing and retrain as a lawyer, which I did in 2008.

In 2011 I completed my law degree and was called to the Bar (which is just a fancy way of saying ‘I was officially a solicitor and barrister’).

My first job as a ‘baby lawyer’ was with Quin Law in New Plymouth, where I learned a huge amount about the legal world. I chose this particular firm because I wanted to specialise in family and employment law; papers I particulary enjoyed at university. Because of my experience in mental health services and Work and Income, I knew this was where I could make the most difference.

After six happy and rewarding years with Quin Law I decided that the time was right to set up my own legal practice and so Tungsten Legal was born.

At the heart of Tungsten Legal is the guiding principal that legal work isn’t about winners and losers. Unfortunately, this false impression has come about through movies, TV shows and courtroom-drama novels.

My philosophy is that what the law is really about is making sure that everyone involved in the legal process gets a fair and just outcome within the legal parameters under which we work.

When I’m ‘off the clock’ and not being a lawyer the other shoes I wear are gumboots. My husband has been a dairy farmer here in Taranaki for over 30 years. This means I've had a second job throughout my career. When required I am the 'labour unit' so I know my way around milking, calf rearing and making hay and silage the old fashioned way. 

We have three adult children, who are all busy pursuing their own careers here in New Zealand and overseas.

You can contact me by:

Email: [email protected]

Phone / Text: 021 159 8067

Hi, I’m Lars Hansen, Senior Associate at Tungsten Legal.

My story began overseas when I was born in Thailand. My father was in the US Armed Forces and so we moved around quite a bit. Yes, I am indeed a true ‘military brat’.

The moving stopped, however, when my parents decided to move to New Zealand in the mid-70s and we settled in Rotorua. I grew up and went to school there until I was 15 when I was given permission to leave school early to begin an apprenticeship with the Post Office. In time I became a business analyst and continued working for Telecom after privatisation.

In 1998 I decided it would be a good idea to leave full-time work to get some academic qualifications, so I enrolled at Waikato University to study for a degree in strategic management. In my second year I decided to add law to my degree. Following the successful completion of the degree I then took a Masters in Law and was admitted to the Bar in 2006.

Once studies were over I went to work for Community Law in New Plymouth. While I was there I met Sandy when she was working for Quin Law. We both specialise in employment law and have a very similar view of the legal process. When Sandy decided to start Tungsten Legal and invited me to join her I leapt at the chance.

As well as employment law, my areas of expertise are immigration and human rights. This covers fields such as privacy, discrimination, health and disability.

You can contact me by:

Email: [email protected]

Phone / Text: 021 195 7557