Madeleine began her law degree at the University of Waikato where she was elected Vice-President of the student body. Then, whilst employed by Sanitarium Health Food as an in-house Legal Assistant, she resumed and transferred her studies to the University of Auckland, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (LLB).
Since 2011, Madeleine has worked in law firms on the Hibiscus Coast. She fell in love with the Coast so in 2013 she officially became a “Coastie” when she moved to the region.
On being made a Barrister sole, with the right to practice law on her own account, she founded Hibiscus Coast Legal Chambers Ltd in Orewa on 4 July 2016.
While she and her team have a large number of Hibiscus Coast / Rodney based clients, Madeleine is regularly sought out by those needing her particular legal skills from all over Auckland and beyond. She often has clients based in various parts of New Zealand, and even some based overseas. With modern technology, location is not a barrier.
Madeleine has a long-held interest in Natural Justice, Public Law, Rights and Freedoms Law, with particular interest in the rights to freedom of thought, freedom of conscience, freedom of religion or belief, and the rights to express, practise, live and parent in accord with the same.
She is increasingly working in Appeal and Judicial Review areas, she also does some Family, Harassment, Media, Charity and Animal Welfare Law.
Some of her work has set precedents, been reported in the media, law journals, and is taught in law schools throughout New Zealand. She is periodically asked to speak on her specialist topics to her profession and to the public.
Madeleine is a member of the New Zealand Bar Association, the The Law Association, and the Family Law Section of the New Zealand Law Society. She is a Level 3 Lead Provider of Family Legal Aid for the Ministry of Justice. In 2023, she was appointed to the The Law Association’s Friends Panel.
In March 2017 the Ministry of Justice released a Quality and Value Audit on Madeleine’s Family Law Legal Aid work. That report is available here: Ministry of Justice Quality and Value Audit Report 2017 – Madeleine Flannagan.
From time to time, Madeleine offers pro-bono assistance to various charitable organisations, including the Rodney Animal Rescue Trust and the Kaimanawa Legacy Foundation, both of which she is a founding board member and the honorary lawyer for.