Expertise

Advice - wide experience advising on contracts, contract drafting, commercial strategies, dispute avoidance, and defusing commercial and civil disputes;

Commercial and contract - cases involving many different kinds of contract (including sale and purchase of, land, shares, businesses; distribution, franchise, dealership and sponsorship agreements). These claims include contract breach, contract cancellation, simple debt collection, credit contract claims, and security priority disputes;

Companies Act and Securities Act - advice on shareholder disputes, shareholder oppression actions (s174); formal and informal schemes of arrangement and Securities Commission investigation;

Construction and Building - advice and cases involving defective construction of multi-unit residential facilities, a major civic amenity, co-generation plant, advice on Construction Contracts Act processes; defence and prosecutions under Building Act 2004; in depth familiarity with NZS 3910, NZIA, and FIDIC forms;

Court work – appeals, injunctions, judicial review proceedings, ordinary proceedings, summary judgment for plaintiffs and defendant,

Estates – advice to executors and trustees, cases challenging and seeking to uphold wills including Family Protection Act and Testamentary Promises claims;

Insolvency - advice to companies, individuals and agri-businesses concerning insolvency, debt rescheduling, Proposals under Companies Act and Insolvency Act, formal and informal schemes, evaluation of schemes and proposals, applications to Court for approval of proposals;

Insurance - advice to professional indemnifiers of various law firms and representation of various firms facing negligence claims;

Judicial review proceedings and administrative law matters relating to monopoly pricing; education; local government action, Official Information Act and Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act;

Legal and other professions - advice on ethical obligations; conflicts of interest, breaches of confidence, professional negligence, obligations owed to and by insurers;

Mediation - counsel in approximately 30 mediations; acted as mediator;

Negotiation - negotiation of one-off agreements with private and governmental organisations settling disputes in many fields, advice on proposed terms of many different agreements including those settling disputes;

Pro bono - in cases within his field of expertise where clients face particular hardship, where there are public interest, or the risk of denial of access to justice;

Relationship Property - advice on entitlements and negotiation of agreements relating to division and status of property in marriages and de facto relationships;

Tax administration - advice on tax obligations, offences, civil and criminal penalties, document discovery, disputes procedures, voluntary disclosure and sentencing;

Trade practice disputes - fair trading claims; Commerce Commission investigation and prosecution, monopoly pricing (electricity and aviation industries), predatory and discriminatory pricing, refusals to supply;

Trusts - advice to trustees and advice to beneficiaries concerning trustee’s actions; constructive trust claims; applications under Trustee Act for modification of trusts, directions for trustees and for amendment of trust terms.