NBR
Lawyer Adina Thorn is probably one of the few people equipped to take on the might of global cladding manufacturers.
Her combined law and property degrees give her a head start and her penchant for research makes her well-prepared for the lawyered-up might of James Hardie and other manufacturers in a $100 million plus class action she is launching against them for defective cladding materials.
Ms Thorn, a slight woman with a big laugh, warm personality and resolute determination to win, has been a lawyer for more than a decade, variously working for Queen’s Counsel Jim Farmer, Heaney & Partners and Grimshaw & Co before starting her own company nearly five years ago.
Her interest in New Zealand’s $112 billion leaky building crisis was piqued while working for Heaney & Partners, which specialises in defending councils against claims from thousands of homeowners.