Presenters

Laura Monahan, Director, McCaw Lewis
Laura leads a team of talented lawyers in the firm’s commercial law area. Laura has extensive experience in commercial law, and advises clients on a wide variety of business matters including limited partnerships, ownership arrangements including shareholders’ agreements and share sales and purchases, negotiating and preparing commercial contracts, commercial property matters, commercial lease arrangements, Financial Markets Conduct Act issues, Overseas Investment Act matters, construction contracts and business sales and purchases. More recently, Laura has moved towards particular specialisation in the area of Māori commercial matters, assisting iwi clients to establish post settlement governance entities and make arrangements to best manage iwi assets. She enjoys working with our commercial clients to help them meet their business goals, priding herself on keeping things simple and understandable. Prior to joining McCaw Lewis, Laura worked in the corporate and commercial team at a large Auckland law firm, before moving to London to work as in-house legal counsel for a healthcare company. Giving back to the community she grew up in is important to Laura, and she is on the boards of the Waikato Family Centre Trust and the Waikato Diocesan School for Girls Old Girls Association Committee. She has recently established a local networking group for women in business in the Waikato together with Stacey Martin from BNZ Hamilton and Jan Gatley from PwC Hamilton. Outside of the workplace, she likes to spend time with her husband and two young daughters, keep fit at the gym or along the Waikato River trail, and have weekly Sunday barbecues with her sisters and parents. Laura was raised in Hamilton, returning here to join the firm in 2012, and was appointed as a Director of the firm in 2020.


Aasha Foley, Managing Partner, iCLAW Culliney Partners
Aasha Foley is the driving force behind iCLAW, blending legal expertise with business acumen to deeply understand her clients' commercial realities. As Managing Partner, Aasha leads a team and its operations across iCLAW’s Waikato and Bay of Plenty offices, while simultaneously advising her clients as a specialist commercial lawyer.  Aasha has extensive experience advising clients across a wide range of commercial agreements associated with business ownership and investment, mergers and acquisitions, and the commercialisation of intellectual property, and a strong background in corporate governance, structuring, and finance.  Aasha’s experience and special interests extend across commercial advice for key person management, employment, health and safety, and privacy. Aasha is known as a ‘contract specialist’ with an unwavering work ethic that achieves exceptional results. Her strategic thinking, sharp instincts and foresight make her a reliable lawyer. As a mother of two, she carefully balances family and career, providing valuable guidance to her clients while serving as a role model to her children.  While practising law on a day-to-day basis, Aasha juggles the logistics of leadership, management and operations at iCLAW. Known for her ability to identify opportunities and anticipate outcomes, Aasha is an insightful, precise, and pragmatic legal advisor and business owner.

Presenters

Laura Monahan, Director, McCaw Lewis
Laura leads a team of talented lawyers in the firm’s commercial law area. Laura has extensive experience in commercial law, and advises clients on a wide variety of business matters including limited partnerships, ownership arrangements including shareholders’ agreements and share sales and purchases, negotiating and preparing commercial contracts, commercial property matters, commercial lease arrangements, Financial Markets Conduct Act issues, Overseas Investment Act matters, construction contracts and business sales and purchases. More recently, Laura has moved towards particular specialisation in the area of Māori commercial matters, assisting iwi clients to establish post settlement governance entities and make arrangements to best manage iwi assets. She enjoys working with our commercial clients to help them meet their business goals, priding herself on keeping things simple and understandable. Prior to joining McCaw Lewis, Laura worked in the corporate and commercial team at a large Auckland law firm, before moving to London to work as in-house legal counsel for a healthcare company. Giving back to the community she grew up in is important to Laura, and she is on the boards of the Waikato Family Centre Trust and the Waikato Diocesan School for Girls Old Girls Association Committee. She has recently established a local networking group for women in business in the Waikato together with Stacey Martin from BNZ Hamilton and Jan Gatley from PwC Hamilton. Outside of the workplace, she likes to spend time with her husband and two young daughters, keep fit at the gym or along the Waikato River trail, and have weekly Sunday barbecues with her sisters and parents. Laura was raised in Hamilton, returning here to join the firm in 2012, and was appointed as a Director of the firm in 2020.


Aasha Foley, Managing Partner, iCLAW Culliney Partners
Aasha Foley is the driving force behind iCLAW, blending legal expertise with business acumen to deeply understand her clients' commercial realities. As Managing Partner, Aasha leads a team and its operations across iCLAW’s Waikato and Bay of Plenty offices, while simultaneously advising her clients as a specialist commercial lawyer.  Aasha has extensive experience advising clients across a wide range of commercial agreements associated with business ownership and investment, mergers and acquisitions, and the commercialisation of intellectual property, and a strong background in corporate governance, structuring, and finance.  Aasha’s experience and special interests extend across commercial advice for key person management, employment, health and safety, and privacy. Aasha is known as a ‘contract specialist’ with an unwavering work ethic that achieves exceptional results. Her strategic thinking, sharp instincts and foresight make her a reliable lawyer. As a mother of two, she carefully balances family and career, providing valuable guidance to her clients while serving as a role model to her children.  While practising law on a day-to-day basis, Aasha juggles the logistics of leadership, management and operations at iCLAW. Known for her ability to identify opportunities and anticipate outcomes, Aasha is an insightful, precise, and pragmatic legal advisor and business owner.