Healthcare + Medico-legal

• Instructed by the Medical Protection Society on a wide range of healthcare, medico-legal and disciplinary law issues, with regular court appearances — including before the Coroners Court and Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal.
• Instructed to appear for the Medical Officer of Health in relation to the Government Inquiry into Havelock North drinking water.

Professional Liability

• Defending substantial negligence claims against Exide Technologies Ltd arising from the destruction of a warehouse by fire.
• Acting for Trustees Executors Ltd in complex litigation arising from the under-performance of a directed group investment fund, including bringing claims against the fund manager on behalf of investors.

Civil Litigation + Dispute Resolution

• Defending declaratory judgment proceedings against the New Zealand Fire Service Commission concerning the levy provisions of the Fire Service Act 1975.
• Acting for Southern Response Earthquake Services Ltd in Canterbury earthquake sequence litigation.
• Defending judicial review proceedings in the Court of Appeal against Wellington City Council concerning the adopting of a parking policy.

Public Law

• Advising local authorities on a wide range of public law issues, including decision-making under the Local Government Act 2002, governance issues, the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987, the Local Government (Rating) Act 2002 and the Reserves Act 1977.
• Drafting legislation to provide a modern governance framework for a significant “town belt” of reserve land — including managing stakeholders, engaging with elected members and taking a hands-on role in the consultation process.
• Defending judicial review proceedings by an elected member — the first example of a local authority decision under its code of conduct for elected members being challenged. This involved complex issues under the Local Government Act 2002 and New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990.

Energy, Mining + Power

• Acting for an energy company in a range of matters including a Royal Commission into a coal mine tragedy, the lease of a coal load-out facility, the arbitration of a substantial dispute over the hiring of mining equipment, and the mediation of a dispute over the purchase of mining equipment.
• Defending an energy company in claims arising from a landslide near an opencast coal mine.
• Defended an appeal against the dismissal of charges following the de-fouling of an off-shore drilling rig.

Technology

• Managing the preparation of a telecoms provider’s standard terms proposals for regulated services under the Telecommunications Act 2001, involving extensive coordination of stakeholders, technical expertise and high-stakes commercial drafting to meet statutory deadlines.
• Defending a telecoms provider in a US$30 million+ High Court claim brought by a Hong Kong company over payments for international voice traffic. A private mediation resulted in a settlement.
• Successfully arbitrating significant claims under software development contracts brought against a telecoms provider by a US company.

Financial Services

• Acting for a trustee company in a test case involving the way in which KiwiSaver providers can hold accounts on behalf of bankrupt members.
• Acting for a trustee company in a test case involving the application of the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act 2009 to a lender.