Your clients’ futures depend on the advice you give. Take advantage of the standout opportunity to hear directly from Debra Smallholme, Deputy Chair of the Immigration and Protection Tribunal. Gain valuable insights into Tribunal processes, case management and expectations of representatives and bring a sharper focus to your evidence, submissions and hearing preparation. From skilled visas and business migration to deportation appeals, employer compliance and complex medical matters, put the issues that shape your practice under the spotlight. Explore how to build a defensible AI workflow without compromising client confidentiality or professional judgment. Gain more than just updates: invest in clearer strategy, stronger preparation and greater confidence in your next client matter.

Presenters

Debra Smallholme, Deputy Chair, Immigration and Protection Tribunal
Debra Smallholme was appointed as a member of the Immigration and Protection Tribunal in 2015. Prior to this, Debra spent nine years working as a barrister and solicitor, to partnership level, in Gisborne. During this time, she was also the District Inspector for Mental Health Services for four years and held roles as lawyer for child and counsel to assist the court. Having always had a strong interest in access to justice, and after three children and a move to Tāmaki Makaurau, Debra began her work as a tribunal member. She worked for 15 years as a Disputes Tribunal Referee and, during that time, for eight years as a Tenancy Tribunal Adjudicator. She has also determined ACC reviews and child support reviews and reviewed grants of legal aid. Debra works in all appeal work in the IPT.

Sonny Lam, Consultant, Queen City Law
Sonny is a former Immigration New Zealand Officer. He was admitted as a Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand in 2007, practicing in the area of employment and family law for around 7 years before joining Immigration New Zealand. He has a balanced understanding of the New Zealand Immigration system having served with INZ in multiple officer roles before being called back to private practice as a lawyer in 2015. Sonny’s focus is on helping families. He has personally taken part in assisting thousands of people obtain residency, whether as an Immigration officer or as an Immigration lawyer. He has particular expertise in the SMC Skilled Migrant Category Residence applications, particularly in Immigration Appeals to the IPT on residency decline decisions. His family law background and his former experience as an Immigration Officer in the partnership assessment teams will give you the edge in preparing for a partnership application. Due to the unique mixture of his background, Sonny is also highly in demand in providing Employment and Immigration business advisory advice for companies hiring migrant workers, including applying for the legalisation of overstayer workers which is known as a s61 application. He has acted on Immigration/ Employment matters for various international companies for their New Zealand business interests, including collective bargaining with migrant workers.

Bradley So, Director, Queen City Law
Bradley So is a Director at Queen City Law NZ Limited and he manages QCL’s large award-winning Immigration Team. Bradley specialises in Business Migration, Foreign Investment and Commercial Law. The firm has represented a significant number of Ultra High Net Worth individuals with all their immigration requirements - such QCL clients have invested in excess of $1,000,000,000 in our economy. Bradley is New Zealand’s highest profile presenter on business migration-based issues. He has presented at numerous legal summits and conferences both onshore and offshore. Brad has excellent communication and listening skills. Brad enjoys excellent relationships with other professionals including major banks, accountants, investment bankers, property developers and asset managers. Brad also owns NZ Labour Inc, which specialises in the recruitment of Filipino workers for New Zealand employers. Bradley is a well-rounded person and enjoys learning new things. He is actively involved in sports. He has competed in Kickboxing, MMA and Jiu-Jitsu. Bradley was selected for the NZ kickboxing team. He competed internationally in Macedonia 2011 and in Brazil 2013.


Deborah Manning, Barrister, Senior Lecturer, AUT University School of Law, Director of the Good Practice Company
Deborah Manning is a barrister at Landmark Chambers and a Law Honours graduate of the University of Auckland (BA/LLB Hons). Since her admission to the Bar in 1999, she has specialised in refugee and immigration law, with particular interest in how these areas intersect with related fields. She is a Senior Lecturer at AUT Law School, teaching in immigration, refugee law, and professional practice. Deborah holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Professional Supervision (PGCertPro) and has served for many years on the TLANZ Immigration and Refugee Committee. She currently chairs the Immigration Reference Group, a key stakeholder forum working with MBIE. She is also the founder of The Good Practice Company, a consultancy focused on supervision, professional practice, and systems-level wellbeing in high-pressure legal environments and is a certified AI Ethicist through University of Oxford – Saïd Business School (March 2026)


Marcus Beveridge, Managing Director, Queen City Law
Marcus Beveridge is the Managing Director of Queen City Law NZ Limited. His main areas of practice are construction and property law, commercial law, foreign investment, real estate services and immigration. Marcus has developed expertise in business-based immigration and has acted on literally 100's of successful business-based immigration applications over the best part of 3 decades. Many of these clients have subsequently become major clients of his firm. The total amount of business immigration funds invested in NZ in the last decade is close to NZ$10 Billion. Marcus is a regular commentator on immigration based issues on national Radio & TV and has presented and chaired many NZ Immigration Law conferences over the years. Marcus has also recently been on several Working Groups and Immigration Reference Groups liaising with senior INZ management about assorted immigration issues. His firm comprises one of NZ’s largest immigration law teams. Marcus was formerly Chairman of NZAMI and Convenor of the New Zealand Law Society Immigration Committee.

Pooja Sundar, Partner, Dalley Sundar
Pooja Sundar is a leading immigration and family lawyer known for her expertise in complex matters involving migrants, refugees, and families navigating sensitive legal and immigration issues. She holds a Master of Laws (Honours) and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Auckland and is a Legal Aid–registered practitioner. Her work spans all areas of immigration law - from visas and residence appeals to refugee and protection claims - alongside family proceedings where immigration and family-violence issues intersect. Pooja combines deep legal expertise with strong cultural intelligence and is frequently called on for high-stakes and precedent-setting matters. She has driven reform on family-violence visa processes and trauma-informed refugee interviews, while her pro bono work has enabled many migrants and survivors of family violence to secure safety and lawful status. A member of several professional and community bodies, Pooja is widely regarded as a leading voice in the evolution of New Zealand’s immigration system.


Shi Sheng Cai (Shoosh), Partner, Ashcroft Mitchell McGregor
Shi Sheng Cai (Shoosh) is a Partner at Ashcroft Mitchell McGregor and regularly acts for employers to help with immigration matters. He has over 7 years of work experience in the immigration sector including experience in the areas of global mobility, corporate immigration, investor migration and expertise with complex New Zealand immigration matters. Shoosh is a member of the Law Association Immigration Committee and is an author for Thomson Reuters Human Rights Law resource. You will find Shoosh "a great guy to deal with". He enjoys working with government officers and is a critical thinker with an insightful legal mind.

Lauren Qiu, Principal, Stay Legal
Lauren is the Principal at Stay Legal. She has presented at national seminars and conferences on immigration law. Lauren is currently the Convenor of The Law Association’s Immigration & Refugee Law Committee and a member of the Tauranga Migrant Settlement Network (an Immigration New Zealand-led Welcoming Communities initiative). Previously, she was a guest lecturer teaching aspiring immigration advisers at Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology, an immigration law commentary author for Thomson Reuters, and provided immigration advice pro bono at the Citizens Advice Bureau (Tauranga) for over 7.5 years.


Charlotte Summers, Operations Manager & IAA Licensed Immigration Adviser, Pathways to New Zealand Limited
Charlotte Summers a Licensed Immigration Adviser at Pathways to New Zealand®, based in Wellington. Charlotte holds a Bachelor and Master of Laws (Honours); Graduate Certificate in New Zealand Immigration Advice; an Enrolled Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand (non practising); Graduate Diploma in Arts (Politics). Charlotte specialises in complex immigration work, including medical and character waivers, humanitarian and residence class appeals, Section 61 requests, and deportation matters. Her earlier experience as an Immigration Officer with Immigration New Zealand gives her strong insight into immigration processes and decision making. Charlotte frequently presents on immigration issues to professional and community groups. Her academic research has focused on migrant exploitation and family violence, highlighting her commitment to supporting vulnerable migrants.

Mathew Harrington, Lawyer, Queen City Law
Mathew joined Queen City Law in 2026, bringing an insider's view of how Immigration New Zealand actually works — drawn from over a decade's experience across operational, technical and leadership roles, including at INZ's national office, together with private practice experience. He has deep experience in business and investment migration, including the Investor, Entrepreneur, Parent Retirement and Active Investor Plus categories — the Entrepreneur category has since been superseded by the Business Investor Visa. He contributed to the design and early implementation of Active Investor Plus and later monitored its early operational performance. His work has included sensitive, complex and high-profile immigration matters. Mathew has also held operational leadership roles across temporary visa categories, including the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme. In senior advisory roles, he advised Immigration New Zealand's senior leadership on complex operational issues. His work also included engagement with the Minister's Office, Official Information Act requests and Parliamentary Questions. This gives Mathew a strong practical understanding of how Immigration New Zealand interprets instructions, assesses evidence and reaches decisions — insight he puts directly to work for clients, helping identify risk early and build a strong case