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McVeagh Fleming Partner and Chair Alissa Bell has been named one of NZ Lawyer and Australasian Lawyer’s Elite Women 2026, recognising outstanding female leaders making a meaningful contribution to the legal profession across New Zealand and Australia.
The annual Elite Women report celebrates women demonstrating leadership, influence and a passion for the law. This year, 105 women were selected following a review of nominations detailing their professional achievements, initiatives and impact on the legal profession over the past 12 months.
For Alissa Bell, the recognition reflects both her standing as a leading family and relationship property lawyer and her contribution to the profession, the firm and the wider community.
Alissa Bell joined McVeagh Fleming in 2011 and went on to become a Partner, board member and, in 2023, the first female Chair in the firm’s history.
Her Elite Women 2026 profile highlights the approach she has taken to leadership at McVeagh Fleming, including creating more opportunities for people throughout the firm to contribute to its direction.
Speaking to NZ Lawyer, Alissa Bell describes law as traditionally being “a little bit of a closed shop”, adding: “But I would much rather have everybody involved.”
That philosophy is reflected in the firm’s approach to internal decision-making and feedback. Steering committees extend beyond the partnership and board, while different cohorts across the firm meet regularly with the General Manager, giving people at all levels an opportunity to share their perspectives and contribute ideas.
It is an approach based on a simple principle: listen to people throughout the organisation and give them a genuine opportunity to help shape it.
Alissa Bell’s profile also highlights her focus on wellbeing, particularly within family law, where lawyers regularly work with people going through some of the most difficult periods of their lives.
She has been open about the importance of lawyers asking for help when they need it and removing the stigma around using mental health and wellbeing support.
As she explains in the profile:
“Over the years, I’ve realised that you don’t have to just be completely stoic and power on through. You can actually be a lawyer and be a human at the same time.”
Within her own team, this includes creating a strong spread of experience so that junior lawyers have access to support and guidance from multiple people rather than feeling they have to manage difficult matters alone.
Alongside her leadership responsibilities and private practice, Alissa Bell remains committed to improving access to justice.
Her work includes legal aid and duty lawyer work, family dispute resolution mediation and acting as a court-appointed lawyer for children. She is also Co-Convenor of the Family Law Committee of The Law Association of New Zealand, contributing to submissions on law reform and engagement with government and the judiciary on the family justice system.
For Alissa Bell, maintaining access to legal services remains important regardless of the size or commercial success of a firm.
“You don’t have to purely take on private work to actually be successful,” she told NZ Lawyer.
The recognition also has particular significance for Alissa Bell as someone who was the first person in her family to attend university and began her legal career without the family connections to the profession that many lawyers have.
Her profile charts that journey through to becoming McVeagh Fleming’s first female Chair and a recognised leader within the profession.
Over the past year, she has also facilitated panels at the UN Women Aotearoa New Zealand Women in Leadership Summit and spoken at the Ally Law 2026 Annual Global Conference.
For Alissa Bell, greater visibility of women in leadership matters because it helps the next generation see what is possible.
“It wasn’t something that was celebrated, and it wasn’t something that was seen as common. The more you see it, the more you know that it’s possible.”
We are incredibly proud to see Alissa Bell recognised among the Elite Women 2026 and for the contribution she continues to make to McVeagh Fleming, her clients and the wider legal profession.
Congratulations, Alissa.
Read Alissa Bell’s full Elite Women 2026 profile
View the NZ Lawyer Elite Women 2026 report
