Ms. Dunlavy was born and raised in New Zealand.  She moved to the United States as a teenager and graduated from the University of Iowa College of Law with Special Distinction in 1984. Ms. Dunlavy has worked in the public and private sector, large law firms and small.  In March of 2007, she opened her own firm when she founded and opened Dunlavy Law Group.  She is licensed in Georgia and in New Zealand.

She is admitted to all Georgia state and federal courts.  She was admitted to the United States Supreme Court in May 2008.  Ms. Dunlavy specializes in land use and zoning law, governmental law, historic preservation law and real estate related litigation.  She also acts as general counsel for several small business and a public utility. Her clients range from individual homeowners seeking government approvals for small building projects to developers, builders, religious institutions, commercial and industrial business owners, and a public utility.

She represents clients before local governing bodies (such as city councils, boards of commissioners, zoning boards, historical preservation commissions and planning commissions) and in court.  Her practice includes most jurisdictions inside the Atlanta metropolitan area and many outside of that area.  She is married to Dan Dunlavy and lives in Oakhurst with him, their daughter, Jamie and their dogs, Bronte and Lily.