Lawyers in New Zealand report surge in separations as a result of Covid lockdown

Relationship therapists and lawyers say number of new clients is comparable to the annual post-holiday separation rise

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Some New Zealand family lawyers have been overwhelmed with enquiries - and are even turning prospective clients away - because of an increase in newly-separated couples seeking legal advice after they split during the country's strict Covid-19 lockdown.

We're having new inquiries daily, certainly more than usual," said Alissa Bell, a partner at McVeagh Fleming in Auckland, New Zealand's largest city. We often get an increase post Christmas, and it's similar to that and even above that."