NZ Lawyer issue 6.01

nzlawyermagazine.co.nz

Issue 6.1

HOT LIST The 38 trailblazing lawyers changing the industry now

DIRECTOR LIABILITY INSURANCE LAW’S NEW FRONTIER

JAMES HOSKING THE KIWI LAWYER CONQUERING NEW YORK

NEED MORE PRACTICE EMPLOYMENT LAW OPPORTUNITIES

EDITOR’S LETTER / 6.1

SEPARATING THE SPECIAL FROM THE SO-SO

Aidan Devine

We’ve all got that call at least once. You’re in the middle of a crisis when an unfamiliar number rings your phone. Despite everything on your plate, you take the call and hear a strange voice down the line. Something about them intrigues you and you listen in. Maybe you know them?

Turns out you don’t. There’s a big sale of industrial strength vacuum cleaners – maybe it’s dishwasher-proof ‘samurai-style’ cleavers – and because you’re such a great guy they’re offering a discount. Sigh.

That’s the modern world for you. Everywhere you look there’s something – usually mundane – begging for your attention. Wait at the traffic lights too long and someone will want to wash your windscreen. Open your emails and someone will be trumpeting new baldness cures and why you should invest in Kiribati.

Even the legal industry isn’t without its distractions, like difficult employees and clients. Then there are the newspapers. Last year they were all about Syria and its potential repercussions. Now they’re saying it’s a Ukraine conflict that’s going to take a giant no. 2 on world markets – and that includes your business.

Among all this noise, noticing the truly exceptional can be a challenge. It’s with this in mind that NZ Lawyer has compiled 2014’s Hot List, a look at the country’s top legal professionals. From lawyers in top-tier firms to those in emerging industry players, the list showcases which practitioners sizzled over 2013 and early 2014, overseeing some of the period’s most ground-breaking deals.

The exceptional also comes to mind when considering James Hosking, profiled on page 12. The New York-based New Zealand lawyer has built a highly successful business in Manhattan and shares amazing insights on how firms can compete in the global market.

On another note, it’s with great joy that I welcome readers to the first edition of NZ Lawyer under its new producers, Key Media. As a diversified global media company, the Key Media Group brings an exciting new direction for the title, leveraging off the group’s extensive experience with legal magazines across the Asia-Pacific, Australia and New Zealand.

Enjoy the magazine and have a cracking quarter ahead!

COPY & FEATURES EDITOR Aidan Devine JOURNALIST Mackenzie McCarty CONTRIBUTORS Renu Prasad, Ben Abbott, Sarah Megginson PRODUCTION EDITORS Roslyn Meredith, Moira Daniels

ART & PRODUCTION DESIGNER Jonathan Phillips

SALES & MARKETING SALES MANAGER Joel Ulbricht MARKETING EXECUTIVE Alex Carr TRAFFIC MANAGER Abby Cayanan

CORPORATE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Mike Shipley CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER George Walmsley MANAGING DIRECTOR Justin Kennedy GENERAL MANAGER NZ Adrian Gallagher CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER Colin Chan HR MANAGER Julia Bookallil Editorial enquiries Mackenzie McCarty tel: +64 9 973 5195 mackenzie.mccarty@keymedia.co.nz Advertising enquiries Joel Ulbricht tel: +64 9 889 0060 joel.ulbricht@keymedia.co.nz Subscriptions subscriptions@keymedia.com.au Key Media keymedia.co.nz Key Media Pty Ltd, NZ office, Level 13, 57 Fort St, Britomart Auckland 1010, New Zealand tel: +64 9 9735 195 fax +64 9 9735 199 Offices in Sydney, Toronto, Denver, Manila nzlawyermagazine.co.nz Copyright is reserved throughout. No part of this publication can be reproduced in whole or part without the express permission of the editor. Contributions are invited, but copies of work should be kept, as NZ Lawyer magazine can accept no responsibility for loss

Aidan Devine, editor, NZ Lawyer

CONNECT

Contact the editor:

aidan.devine@keymedia.co.nz

2 | APRIL 2014

Printed on paper produced from 100% sustainable forestry, grown and managed specifically for the paper pulp industry

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16 HOT COVER STORY

Hot List NZ Lawyer looks at 2014’s ‘hot’ legal talent

LIST 12

FEATURE

The accidental arbitrator James Hosking

40

INSURANCE LAW

FEATURES 36 | The true value of postgraduate study Do postgraduate qualifications still give a firm’s lawyers an edge over their rivals?

40 | Insurance law’s new horizon As Canterbury earthquake claims finally settle, insurance lawyers are tackling new and significant insurance risks 46 | Employment law’s moving goalposts Are employment lawyers up for the game?

28 | General counsel at AIG Richard Shine talks new opportunities

PROFILES

32 | The seven-year itch Roger Partridge reflects on his final year at the helm of Bell Gully

12 | The accidental arbitrator Manhattan-based legal entrepreneur and adviser in billion-dollar cases James Hosking talks about his meteoric rise from Auckland litigator to international power player

04 | Deals 06 | News analysis 08 | Appointments 10 | Trends

REGULARS

APRIL 2014 | 3

NEWS / DEALS

Recent deals in brief $525m

CORPORATE COMMERCIAL (RECAPITALISATION) Brookfield PIH sale of Powerco to consortium led by AMP Capital (Australia):  Bell Gully partners Clive Taylor and Hayden Wong advised on Brookfield PIH’s sale of 42% of Powerco to a consortium led by AMP Capital from Australia.

The sale is conditional on Overseas Investment Office approval.  Minter Ellison Rudd Watts (Paul Foley and John Conlan, Wellington) acted for the AMP consortium.

Barclays Bank plc (Francis del Villar, Sydney office) acted for Brookfield as financial adviser.

$650m CONSTRUCTION Contracts for redevelopment of Christchurch and Burwood Hospitals: Brian Clayton, partner at Chapman Tripp, acted for the Ministry of Health on the construction contracts for the $650m redevelopment of Christchurch and Burwood Hospitals, New Zealand’s largest ever investment in public health facilities.

The Burwood Hospital construction contract was awarded on 17 December 2013 to Leighs Cockram JV.

Brian Clayton

4 | APRIL 2014

Transaction

Value (NZ$)

Firm

Client

Lead lawyer(s)

Dentsply acquisition of select Triodent assets

Undisclosed

Anderson Creagh Lai

Triodent Holdings Ltd and its major shareholder

Jeffrey Lai

Farmlands Co-operative Society Ltd purchase of NRM animal feeds business

Undisclosed

Anderson Lloyd

Farmlands Co-operative Society Ltd

Sarah Simmers

Sale of Pacific Shipping to Swire

Undisclosed

Anderson Lloyd

Skeggs Group

Sarah Simmers

Bluescope Steel Ltd acquisition of Pacific Steel Group operations

$120m (approx.)

Bell Gully

Fletcher Building

Brynn Gilbertson, James Cooney

Bluescope Steel Ltd acquisition of Pacific Steel Group operations

$120m (approx.)

Chapman Tripp

Bluescope/NZ Steel

Pip England

Mediaworks debt restructure

Confidential

Bell Gully

Mediaworks NZ (in receivership June 13)

David McPherson, Murray Tingey, James Gibson

Legal aspects of Mediaworks receivership

$285m

Chapman Tripp

Kordamentha

Michael Harper, Graem Olding

AMP capital-led consortium acquisition of 42% share in Powerco

$525m

Bell Gully

Prime infrastructure networks (New Zealand) Ltd/ Brookfield PIH Pty Ltd

Clive Taylor, Haydn Wong, Ben McTaggart

Acquisition of Infratil’s stake in Metlifecare

$148m

Buddle Findlay

Infratil

Simon Vodanovich

Greenfield rural opportunities and Lakeview Rural Holdings acquisition

Undisclosed

Buddle Findlay

New Zealand Pastures

Aerocool and Apata merger

Combined asset value $38m

Buddle Findlay

Aerocool and Apata

Grant Dunn

Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi litigation against Solid Energy and four banks

Undisclosed

Chapman Tripp

Four of Solid Energy’s major bank creditors, ANZ, BNZ, CBA and Westpac

Michael Arthur, James McMillan, Jane Innes-Jones

Construction contracts for redevelopment of Christchurch and Burwood Hospitals

$650m

Chapman Tripp

Ministry of Health

Brian Clayton

Government selldown of 20% shareholding in Air New Zealand

$365m

Chapman Tripp

Treasury

Barry Brown, Tim Tubman, Joshua Pringle

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Transaction

Value (NZ$)

Firm

Client

Lead lawyer(s)

NZ aspects of Ingersoll-Rand plc spin-off of its commercial and residential security businesses

US$2bn

DLA Phillips Fox

Ingersoll-Rand plc and Allegion plc

Martin Wiseman

Newell Rubbermaid New Zealand business consolidation

$13.7m

DLA Phillips Fox

Newell Rubbermaid Inc

Martin Wiseman

BP Oil New Zealand Ltd acquisition of remaining 51% share in Rural Fuel Ltd

$37.5m

DLA Phillips Fox

Kaos Enterprises Ltd

Matthew Hay

Energyworks disposal of shares

Confidential (in excess of $50m)

Minter Ellison Rudd Watts

Multiple, including Energyworks Ltd

Cameron Taylor

Quantum businesses and Learntree Ltd acquisition

$56-62m

Minter Ellison Rudd Watts

Quantum Education Group Ltd and Quantum Corporate Training Ltd shareholders; Learntree Ltd

Rodney Craig, Paul Foley

Dick Smith IPO

A$344.5m

Minter Ellison Rudd Watts

Dick Smith

Cathy Quinn

Thermo Fisher acquisition of Life Technologies

$13.6bn

Russell McVeagh

New Zealand advice to Thermo Fisher adviser Slaughter and May

Chris Bargery, Sarah Keene

IAG acquisition of Wesfarmers Insurance

A$1.85bn

Russell McVeagh

Wesfarmers Insurance

Joe Windmeyer

Warner Bros acquisition of Eyeworks

Confidential, but reported at US$273m

Russell McVeagh

Warner Bros Inc

Pip Greenwood, Dan Jones

APN acquisition of 50% share in The Radio Network

$246.5m

Russell McVeagh

Clear channel broadcasting

David Hoare

$13.6bn M&A

Thermo Fisher acquisition of Life Technologies: Russell McVeagh partners Chris Bargery and Sarah Keen provided New Zealand advice to international laboratory equipment company Thermo Fisher’s adviser Slaugther and May in Thermo Fisher’s acquisition of Life Technologies.

Advice outside New Zealand was provided by Slaughter and May (Thermo Fisher UK), Anderson Mori & Tomotsune (advising Thermo Fisher Japan), Kim & Chang (advising Thermo Fisher South Korea), Giblert + Tobin (advising Thermo Fisher Australia), Jun He (advising Thermo Fisher China), ALRUD (advising Thermo Fisher Russia), Axinn, Velthrop & Harkider LLP (advising Thermo Fisher US), Blake Cassels & Graydon LLP (advising Thermo Fisher Canada).

Sarah Keen

APRIL 2014 | 5

NEWS / ANALYSIS

Law firms: slimming down or smartening up?

The New Zealand legal services market has been through a lean patch – but are firms responding by cutting back associate and graduate numbers?

It’s a prospect scaring lawyers across the developed world: the notion that the high-leverage firm is slipping into obsolescence, leaving graduates and junior lawyers scrambling for a diminishing number of private practice positions. Last June, for example, the Australian Financial Review estimated that the largest Australian firms had collectively culled about 700 non-partner lawyer roles during FY2013. Some recruiters are claiming that this is the worst graduate recruitment market in living memory.

Hence the burning question: are firms winding back leverage? There is a continuing debate as to whether the current drop-off in associate numbers is simply a response to the economic cycle or a more fundamental structural change.

When we interviewed several firms, there seemed to be little evidence of any change in strategy. “I’ve read that it’s the case elsewhere, but we’re certainly not seeing it,” said Simpson Grierson chairman Kevin Jaffe.

A New Zealand Lawyer survey of a sample of top firms found that the average leverage was about four and this had not changed significantly in recent years 6 | APRIL 2014

– other than perhaps for a modest post-GFC adjustment. “Our firms were never so highly geared and I think we have been managing our numbers slightly down since the onset of the GFC. We’ve seen an incremental process rather than any kind of shock,” said Bell Gully chairman Roger Partridge.

Bell Gully is one of a handful of firms that have rationalised their premises in the recent past, leading to some speculation as to whether this was an indication of a rationalised lawyer count. However, Partridge noted that the number of workstations and offices had remained the same. “We relinquished a floor when our lease permitted us to do so… without losing workstations or offices we were able to become a more dense, more collaborative work environment,” he explains. “So it wasn’t related to headcount.”

It is the same story across the firms, who describe their current leverage as either consistent with recent historical averages, or slightly below by a measure of no more than 0.5 lawyers.

What about graduate intake? Minter Ellison Rudd Watts managing partner Mark Weenink thought that some scaling back may have taken place. “If you go back to 2007, most firms were taking on a graduate per partner – most of them now are taking half a graduate per partner,” he said.

Russell McVeagh CEO Gary McDiarmid said he had observed this trend in the Australian market, but added that his own firm has “committed to much the same grad intake all along”. However, he noted that it was possible for firms to maintain the same graduateto-partner ratio but still reduce their graduate intake in the situation where the partnership itself has diminished in size.

Chapman Tripp managing partner Andrew Poole said his firm had not seen a “marked change” in its graduate recruitment program. “We’ve always had a more selective graduate recruitment program; we’ve always aimed to take in as summer clerks only the number we wish to offer full-time employment.”

MISUNDERSTOOD It is common for low-leverage firms to extol the virtues of a higher level of partner contact. This, argued Russell McVeagh’s McDiarmid, demonstrated

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how leverage was “much misunderstood”.

“Clients are always saying they want good value; not necessarily cheap but they want to optimise value,” he said. “To do that you want as much partner access as you can afford and is realistic and practical.

“The analogy is if you take your car to get fixed at the garage, and they say look, I’ve got the apprentice taking [the engine] to bits because there’s not much point paying me $150 an hour so you’ll be much better off that way. And it’s true – it’s a case of using leverage the right way. I don’t know how some organisations can keep a straight face saying they’re delivering great value for clients when they’ve got people who are frankly too senior doing more of the work.”

The counter argument can be found in the value clients perceive in partner contact. “The reality is that most work in this market is partner intensive and clients expect and want the partners on it,” pointed out Mayne Wetherell founding partner Dave Wetherell.

But McDiarmid said that high leverage had been the formula for success around the world. “The great firms, like Mallesons, they’ve got high leverage,” he said. “You somehow have to have quality people coming up otherwise you’re scurrying around trying to laterally hire people in the middle and, frankly, they don’t exist. They’re either happy where they are or are travelling around the world.”

BLUNT INSTRUMENT While most firms were comfortable with describing their leverage at the overall firm level, Simpson Grierson’s Jaffe said that leverage figures were more meaningful when applied to specific practices and the overall firm average is of limited utility.

“Leverage varies, it always has,” he said. “In some areas we’ve got six staff per partner; others we’ve got three – it just depends on the practice and the seniority of people. We’ve got such a wide number of practice areas that you just can’t generalise.” It’s a fair point and it may be the case that the lack of movement in average firm leverage could be concealing movement within individual practice areas – a useful caveat for the industry observer.

NZ firms appear to be fairly comfortable in the view that radical changes are not afoot in their own market. “There is no doubt that there has been major change, especially in Australia, but in NZ with our dynamics, I don’t see major structural change. In a nutshell, I don’t think that what some commentators describe as ‘Big Law’ is in mortal decline in NZ,” said Poole. Judging by everything the New Zealand market has seen over the past 10 years, it’s a fair call. NZL

WHAT’S YOUR FIRM’S POSITION ON LEVERAGE? Andrew Poole, Chapman Tripp “Our [leverage figures] have sat between 3.1 and 3.5 for my entire time with the firm. There has been no material change; we’re not thinking about any material downsizing of the firm in New Zealand. Our partner numbers have been pretty much what they’ve been for years, staff numbers are also the same.”

Dave Wetherell, Mayne Wetherell “We’re running at round about 3 or 4 to one [partner].

The reality is that most work in this market is partner intensive and clients expect and want the partners on it. It is harder to run the old fashioned seven or eight to one leverage model that some teams achieved in the late 90s and early 2000s. I imagine that everyone’s experience in this regard is very similar.”

Gary McDiarmid, Russell McVeagh “Our leverage is about 4.5, depending on when [graduate admission takes place]; it can get over five. There is not a top law firm in the world that doesn’t have a good level of leverage; it’s great value to have stuff that frankly doesn’t need to be done at the senior level done at a level further down.”

Kevin Jaffe, Simpson Grierson “My guess is that [leverage might be] about four, [the overall firm leverage] is not that meaningful as an overall number, it’s more useful to look at individual practice areas and what works for them; you’ve got to be flexible. We haven’t changed in recent years in any significant way – it varies from time to time and practice to practice.”

Mark Weenink, Minter Ellison Rudd Watts “We’re at four lawyers per partner at the moment. I suspect four is about average [across the NZ industry].

Gearing has come down a bit; not a lot. Some of the heady numbers that firms used to run didn’t work so well through the GFC period.”

Roger Partridge, Bell Gully “Our leverage is just over 3.5; We’ve never been much higher than four. We managed it in an incremental way; our legal headcount isn’t noticeably different from what it was in 2007. In 2008 we bumped up to four from a bit over 3.5; Now we’re back to a bit over 3.5. There has been a modest contraction, but only a very modest one.”

APRIL 2014 | 7

NEWS / APPOINTMENTS

Appointments PARTNER APPOINTMENTS Name

Firm

Practice area

Seb Bisley

Buddle Findlay

Litigation/insolvency

Rachael Brown

Bell Gully

Public/employment

Hayley Buckley

Wynn Williams

Corporate/commercial

Sophie East

Bell Gully

Commercial

Marie Evans

DLA Phillips Fox

Litigation/dispute resolution

David Goodman

Anderson Lloyd Lawyers

Commercial

Hugh Lindo

Simpson Grierson

Corporate/commercial

Alice Tocher

Govett Quilliam

Oil and gas/commercial/ property

Jarrod Walker

Bell Gully

Tax

JUDGE APPOINTMENTS Name

Title

Region

Rachel Dunningham

High court judge

Christchurch

Anthony Faire

High court judge

Auckland

Cameron Mander

High court judge

Christchurch

Simon John Eisdell Moore QC

High court judge

Auckland

Laurence Newhook

Permanent principal environment judge Associate judge

Wellington

Susan Elizabeth Thomas

High court judge

Auckland

8 | APRIL 2014

Practice area

Victoria Anderson

Simpson Grierson

Corporate/commercial

Warren Bangma

Simpson Grierson

Local government/ environment

Vivienne Bishop

Simpson Grierson

Commercial property

Joanne Dickson

Simpson Grierson

Commercial litigation

Kirsty Dobbs

Bell Gully

Litigation

Claire Evans

Lane Neave

Corporate/commercial

Rebecca Faull

Simpson Grierson

Commercial litigation

Zelda Gower

Simpson Grierson

Transactional banking and finance

Michelle Hill

Kensington Swan

Property

Jared Holt

Kensington Swan

Construction

Andrew Matthews

Simpson Grierson

Corporate

Paula Ormandy

Bell Gully

Commercial property

Aaron Patience

Kensington Swan

Corporate/commercial

Campbell Pentney

Bell Gully

Tax

Sierra Ryland (née Sparksman)

DAC Beachcroft

Commercial and civil litigation

Jane Standage

Bell Gully

Commercial litigation

Kate Stubbing

Simpson Grierson

Local government/ environment

Frances Wedde

Kensington Swan

Resource management

Name

Firm

Title

Michael Bywell

Minter Ellison Rudd Watts

Consultant

Linda Clark

Kensington Swan

Special counsel

 Bell Gully beefs up commercial litigation, tax teams

 Simpson Grierson lures Christchurch talent

In a bid to grow its Christchurch presence, Simpson Grierson has appointed former Duncan Cotterill partner Hugh Lindo.

Simpson Grierson has long worked in the Christchurch market, moving to new premises in the HSBC Tower on Worcester Boulevard last year, and the firm says Lindo’s appointment as partner represents its ongoing development in the city.

Firm

OTHER APPOINTMENTS

Auckland Warwick Alexander Smith

SENIOR ASSOCIATE APPOINTMENTS Name

Hugh Lindo

Three new partners have joined Bell Gully, including commercial litigators Rachael Brown and Sophie East, along with tax specialist Jarrod Walker.

Rachael Brown specialises in public law, Maori legal issues and all aspects of employment law, including health and safety issues.

Previous employers include Bell Gully and Kensington Swan.

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Sophie East joined Bell Gully’s litigation team in 2009 after four years as an associate in the New York office of White & Case LLP. Her expertise includes acting for corporate clients in commercial litigation and arbitration.

Jarrod Walker advises on all aspects of corporate tax for financial institutions and public and private companies, including their transactional work.

 Anderson Lloyd recruits Goodman Tavendale Reid partner

Alice Tocher

 New Govett Quilliam oil and gas partner Taranaki’s largest firm, Govett Quilliam, has promoted Alice Tocher to its New Plymouth partnership.

Tocher has been with the firm since March 2010 and works with clients in the areas of oil and gas, commercial, property and rural law.

She will be one of two partners leading Govett Quilliam’s specialist oil and gas team. Previous employers include Govett Quilliam, Greenwood Roche Chisnall and Gawith Burridge.

 Former TVNZ political editor joins Kensington Swan David Goodman

 IT heavyweight to advise MERW After many years overseas, former Johnson Winter & Slattery partner Michael Bywell has joined Minter Ellison Rudd Watts’ TMT division as a consultant.

Bywell has acted on some of the world’s largest IT and outsourcing programs over the last 20 years in the UK, Australia and New Zealand.

Bywell says the firm provides a good fit for his practice, given its ambitions in the TMT space. “The firm’s ethos and culture is impressive and well suited to the clients I am accustomed to acting for.”

 Wynn Williams adds commercial partner in Auckland

Former Goodman Tavendale Reid partner David Goodman has joined Anderson Lloyd Lawyers as a partner owner in the firm’s Christchurch office.

Goodman has more than 25 years’ expertise in the water, agribusiness, fisheries, construction, technology and health industries and also advises regularly in relation to mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, insolvencies, corporate restructurings and commercial contracts.

Linda Clark

Former Chapman Tripp lawyer, public policy expert and political commentator Linda Clark has joined Kensington Swan’s public law team as a special counsel.

Prior to becoming a lawyer, Clark held prestigious positions in New Zealand journalism. She was TVNZ’s political editor throughout the 1990s and later hosted Radio New Zealand National’s Nine to Noon program.

Since 2006 she has been a political commentator and election night panellist while studying and now practising law, and was most recently employed as a consultant at Chapman Tripp.

Kensington Swan chief executive Alastair Carruthers says Clark’s combination of political, strategic and legal experience is unique and her networks in Wellington and across New Zealand are extensive.

 Internal promotion boosts DLA Phillips Fox’s Auckland partnership Seb Bisley

Wynn Williams has promoted Hayley Buckley to partner. Nick Lodder, head of the Wynn Williams corporate team in Auckland, says her appointment will strengthen the firm’s commercial offering. Wynn Williams has further beefed up its Auckland office with the appointment of Richard Hern. Hern’s expertise includes professional indemnity, health and life insurance, along with liability work.

DLA Phillips Fox has appointed Marie Evans to the Auckland partnership.

Evans has worked at DLA Phillips Fox for over two years, since moving from the UK, where she headed a commercial dispute resolution team of a top-tier firm. She has worked with blue-chip companies, utilities, hospital trusts, major pharmaceutical companies, large engineering firms and major retailers. Evans will undertake a wider leadership role in the business of the firm itself.

Hayley Buckley

APRIL 2014 | 9

TRENDS

THE LEGAL PROFESSION IN NEW ZEALAND

Research shows an increasing number of lawyers are moving into in-house roles

● Sole practice

 3 in 4 are men  More than half have been in practice over 30 years

● Barristers

Most common areas of practice (more than 50% of time practising certain specialisation):  Criminal law 21.2%  Civil litigation 18.5%  Family law 14.3%

9.4%

12%

Did you know?

The proportion of NZ lawyers practising as barristers has been declining since 2010

20%

Areas of practice by proportion of NZ lawyers ● Barristers ● Sole practitioners ● Lawyers in firms ● In-house lawyers ● Unspecified 42.9% 3.7%

57.9% ● In-house lawyers IN-HOUSE LAWYERS by the numbers

4 in 7 are women Average time in practice

14.9 years 10 | APRIL 2014

44.6%

In-house lawyers as proportion of all lawyers

work in Auckland

27%

● Lawyers in firms -where they work

19%

13.8%

20.3% 10.9%

12%

Only have been in practice more than 20 years

2.9% 1995

2005

2013

● Auckland ● Wellington ● Christchurch ● Hamilton ● Dunedin ● Everywhere else (including overseas) 25.8%

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OPINION

Common perceptions of an in-house role’s advantages Better work-life balance

Greater consistency in work hours

More diverse career options

Growing profile of in-house legal departments

Average private practice vs in-house salaries Annual salary

$200,000

Private practice (non-partner) In-house (private sector)

$150,000 $100,000

WHY ARE LAWYERS INCREASINGLY MOVING TO IN-HOUSE ROLES? Dani Gardiner, Chen Palmer I think the trend is being driven by companies and other organisations growing their in-house legal capability.

Clients have become more cost-conscious about legal fees. Many see an in-house lawyer, who has a deep understanding of their business, as a cheaper and highly effective option.

As for why so many lawyers are keen to take up these roles, I suspect many are driven by a desire to be part of a business, to build on their legal experience and assume a more strategic role, which an in-depth understanding of a business allows. Others may be motivated by a perception that they will have a better work-life balance in an in-house role.

$50,000 $0

1-5 years

6-10 years

11-15 years

16-20 years

21-25 years

Experience (PQE) Source: NZ Law Society. Private practice numbers exclude partners and directors

Private practice vs in-house benefits % private practice lawyers receiving

% in-house lawyers receiving

Superannuation contribution

55%

71%

Vehicle

2%

6%

Health insurance

14%

33%

Mobile phone

30%

71%

Gym membership

15%

11%

Additional sick leave

8%

16%

Work hours flexibility

23%

45%

Working from home

24%

48%

Bonus

18%

66%

Laptop

10%

54%

Long service leave

9%

14%

Benefit

Mark Weenink, Minter Ellison Rudd Watts There has been a lot of change in New Zealand business, bringing great work and opportunities for in-house lawyers, and with growing collaboration between in-house and external providers it’s natural that people will flow between the two.

Helen Mackay, Corporate Lawyers Association of New Zealand I think the question should be why so many organisations are creating or building their in-house legal function.

Obviously it’s demandled rather than lawyers creating their own opportunities. There’s an increasing recognition of the value of having in-house counsel sitting close to the organisation, both in terms of strategic alignment and budget control.

Source: NZ Law Society. In-house figures represent private sector companies only

11 | APRIL 2014

PROFILE / JAMES HOSKING

The accidental

ARBITRATOR He’s led billion-dollar cases, launched a Manhattan-based practice and worked with Guantánamo Bay detainees, but arbitrator James Hosking’s humble view is that his extraordinary rise to the top has been “accidental”. Sarah Megginson reports

James Hosking has notched up two decades of international dispute resolution experience but admits that he never intended to pursue a career in arbitration.

“It wasn’t the career path I’d initially thought I would follow, but through a matter of timing and happenstance, I wound up going in that direction,” Hosking says.

After graduating from Auckland University with a Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Laws (Hons), Hosking began working at Russell McVeagh’s Auckland office.

“I started my career in New Zealand doing general civil litigation and resource management dispute work at Russell McVeagh, which I now realise gave me excellent training in general lawyering skills as well as exposing me to a broad range of disputes that is very helpful for the work I do today,” he explains.

When Hosking went to the bar two years later, 12 | APRIL 2014

he was fortunate enough to work under prolific litigator David Williams QC, and it was this experience that truly set Hosking’s career off in a new direction.

“My move to the bar in 1997 coincided with the New Zealand Arbitration Act coming into force, and my work with David Williams QC included several arbitrations and arbitration-related litigations,” Hosking says.

“I was really enjoying practising at the bar as well as co-lecturing the arbitration and mediation course at Auckland Law School, but I’d always had an interest in taking my career in an international direction. My mother is American – I was considered somewhat ‘exotic’ growing up in West Auckland in the 1970s – and I’d lived in the US and Germany at various times, so I was always thinking globally.”

HEADING STATESIDE It was his desire to further his teaching qualifications and to engage in focused study on international arbitration that prompted Hosking to undertake an LLM overseas. He completed his Master of Laws at Harvard Law School in 2000, but had always planned to go straight back to Auckland afterwards.

Then, an unexpected job opportunity arose.

Hosking was invited to join the New York office of Clifford Chance US LLP, which had just been formed as part of a three-way merger between Clifford Chance and two US and German firms – “a pretty groundbreaking deal back then,” Hosking says.

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CAREER TIMELINE 1990–1994: Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Law (Hons) at Auckland University

1995: Commenced work at Russell McVeagh

1997: Moved to the Bar 1999–2000: Master of Laws at Harvard Law School

2000: Began working at Clifford Chance as an associate in the Litigation & Dispute Resolution department in New York

2006: Made partner at Clifford Chance 2007: Received a Distinguished Service Award from the American Arbitration Association

2009: Became lecturer-in -law at the University of Pennsylvania School of Law

2009: Together with four other senior lawyers at Clifford Chance, formed dispute resolution boutique Chaffetz Lindsey LLP APRIL 2014 | 13

PROFILE / JAMES HOSKING

Secondly, I had helped build up an international arbitration practice in the US and Latin America and it was hard to simply walk away from all that effort.”

But it was a surprising and somewhat dramatic life event that halted the anticipated return to Auckland. Just as James and his wife were contemplating their return, the September 11, 2001, attacks happened.

“We were there during 9/11 and it may sound strange but that sort of created a bond and a connection with the city that we hadn’t felt before,” he says. “It didn’t seem right to leave then, so we didn’t.”

RISING UP THE RANKS

“We’ve been able to take on cases because they are intellectually interesting or important, rather than being driven solely by profits… [from] representing Iran at the Iran-US Claims Tribunal to litigation over the disputed ownership of a Picasso” “Even when I accepted the job, I thought we’d probably only stay in New York for a year or so,” Hosking admits. Thirteen years and two children later, he and his family are well entrenched in their New York City home.

“What led to us staying in the US was a mixture of happenstance and seizing unique opportunities.

It was largely accidental,” he says.

“Firstly, I really enjoyed the multi-jurisdictional nature of the practice at Clifford Chance, and the opportunity to use my foreign language skills.

14 | APRIL 2014

Hosking was an associate in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution department of Clifford Chance until 2006, when he was made a partner. Despite the fact that New Zealand’s population could fit inside New York City twice over, he found few differences between the two legal systems.

“The substantive law is surprisingly similar.

The same legal problems arise over and over again in different jurisdictions,” he says.

“But the practice of law in New York is quite different from my experience in Auckland.

Lawyers tend to be more specialised here, which has its advantages but also leads to some lawyers having a very myopic view of the law. I appreciate the broad education and practice I had in Auckland.”

The biggest legal culture shock came about after seeing the size of teams on major deals or pieces of litigation. As a matter of routine, cases could involve at least a dozen lawyers within the firm; there was one antitrust/competition case that stood out for keeping over 150 lawyers busy.

“This type of system can lead to junior lawyers only handling small parts of a massive project, which can be very frustrating. In a city where less than 2% of civil cases go to trial, it means that the opportunities for oral advocacy can be limited.

It’s one of the reasons why I gravitated towards international arbitration, where there are smaller teams and a far greater percentage of cases go to a final hearing.”

During his time at Clifford Chance, Hosking also began taking on pro bono work, as is the custom in the US legal fraternity. “One thing that amazed me when I started practising here is how much support there is for pro bono legal projects,” he says.

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“I once argued pro bono an appeal up to the state’s highest appellate court and had the pleasure of the chief judge telling me that she thought I had a ‘charming accent’ – that was a first!”

One pro bono case Hosking undertook involved one of the world’s most famous prisons. Together with other lawyers, he represented a number of Guantánamo Bay detainees.

“I distinctly recall the surreal experience of my first visit to Guantánamo: waiting to meet my clients outside the prison and standing amidst swaying palms and white sand beaches, which were vaguely reminiscent of New Zealand, but I was standing thinking that I was a very long way away from home – and a very long way away from my early days as a resource management lawyer.”

While some prisoners were hardened terrorists due to be processed through the courts, others were being detained by authorities based on false tips. They had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“Typically, my clients were kids who were handed

over for ransoms in Afghanistan and Pakistan following the US invasion in 2001, and then locked up at Guantánamo without any prospect of ever being charged with any crime.

“A lot of them are in limbo. They won’t be charged with a crime in the US, but the government doesn’t trust the process of delivering them back to the country they come from, so they’re just stuck in Guantánamo with no clear future.”

Hosking represented three French detainees who were among the first to file habeas corpus petitions, challenging the basis for their detention – which led to their being released almost immediately.

“I then represented six Yemeni detainees who I naively thought would also be sent home promptly, and was lead counsel in just the second ever habeas corpus trial for a Guantánamo detainee. We lost spectacularly. They are still there today and others are carrying on the fight.

For me, it was a pointed lesson that there are limits to what the law can do without political and diplomatic resolve.”

GOING SOLO

our own firm was actually viable.”

Hosking says the reality involved hard work and high blood pressure, but it was worth it. The firm is now 20 lawyers strong and growing.

“A major benefit is that we can take on cases because they are intellectually interesting or important: we’ve done cases as diverse as representing Iran at the Iran-US Claims Tribunal to a litigation over the disputed ownership of a Picasso.”

His personal workload is primarily as counsel in international commercial and investment arbitrations, but Hosking also appears in court, mainly in cases involving cross-border disputes.

While he admits that a return to New Zealand isn’t on the immediate cards, he doesn’t rule it out. “The worst part of living in New York City is undoubtedly the distance from New Zealand and our extended family there,” he says.

“I enjoy my work and appreciate that I wouldn’t have been able to do what I have done if I had stayed in New Zealand. But it’s a trade-off. All things being equal, I would rather live in New Zealand.”

Hosking adds that residing in New York still lives up to the hype: “It’s like living in an episode of Seinfeld 24 hours a day, except I don’t wear sneakers.” NZL

H

osking continues to work on pro bono cases, now from the offices of his own firm Chaffetz Lindsey LLP. The firm was launched in 2009 with four other senior lawyers.

“We handle the same kind of complex commercial disputes we had at the big firms at which we had all worked. Most of our clients are multinational companies. We also do a lot of work for and against sovereigns,” he says.

Striking out on their own had a lot to do with the economic environment: during the GFC, a number of Clifford Chance clients were creating conflicts for his international arbitration practice.

“We were also frustrated by the fixed costs that limit the flexibility big firms have on fees. It can sometimes be very useful to have offices in 30 cities around the world, but that’s expensive and it’s difficult to tailor your resources on a client-by-client basis.

“The other four founding partners were experiencing the same frustrations and we got talking about how we could overcome [them].

It was fun to talk about over a drink, but we quickly became serious when we realised establishing

KEEN TO PRACTICE OVERSEAS? Hosking offers this advice for New Zealand lawyers with international aspirations: 1. Be clear: Ask yourself what you want to achieve from working overseas.

“If it’s just to travel, that’s fine, but a lot of lawyers get sucked into the big firm world and the next thing you know, they’ve spent five years working really hard in New York or London and have only developed skills that may be difficult to translate into other markets.”

2. Be realistic: The US legal job market is hard to break into.

Big firms have a narrow view of their ideal candidate’s résumé.

“Think about how you can distinguish yourself from the US candidate you’ll be competing against.

New Zealanders have a lot to offer, but you may have to be unnaturally pushy to communicate this.”

3. Be sociable: “Keep in touch with other New Zealanders; it’s amazing where they pop up and how they may be able to help you. I get together occasionally through the Auckland Law School alumni group and it’s interesting to see what exciting things other people are doing!”

APRIL 2014 | 15

COVER FEATURE / HOT LIST 2014

HOT LIST

2014

L

Who’s on the big deals?

Who’s the talk of the town?

NZ Lawyer presents an inside look at the hottest private practice lawyers in the New Zealand market

Legal practice is a game of mixed fortunes. In the deal environment, every year produces a series of winners and losers as certain lawyers and firms secure the most envied roles on the top deals.

What we seek to achieve in this feature is to take the pulse of the industry and discover which lawyers are being talked about by their peers. We will be taking a close look at the roles on the NZ Government’s mixed-ownership model, which has particularly dominated the deal landscape of late, and we will also identify lawyers who have come a long way in establishing a ‘personal brand’ for themselves. We’ll also be taking a look at nontransactional areas and noteworthy achievements in community and pro bono work.

First, a cautionary note. Being included in a listing such as this is a significant achievement, but we should remind ourselves that there are

16 | APRIL 2014

many lawyers who are worthy of accolades but for one reason or another have never received one.

So, in compiling this list of New Zealand’s hottest lawyers, we do so with a level of caution and respect for those lawyers who are not on the list. No industry survey can ever be entirely comprehensive in its listing of meritorious lawyers, and we do not purport to be exhaustive in our showcase of legal talent.

The selection of lawyers for this feature was based on submissions received from firms and, for the dealmaker sections, off-record interviews in which respondents were asked to nominate lawyers they respected not only within their own firms but also at rival organisations.

The opportunity to make submissions for this feature was also advertised on the NZ Lawyer website (NZLawyermagazine.co.nz).

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DOWN HOT LIST BREAK FIRMS WITH MOST HOT LIST LAWYERS RUSSELL MCVEAGH – 7 SIMPSON GRIERSON – 3 CHAPMAN TRIPP – 6 MINTER ELLISON RUDD WATTS – 3 BELL GULLY – 4 WYNN WILLIAMS – 2 WHERE THEY PRACTICE

GENDER SPLIT

27

Male lawyers

30

1

Auckland 27 Wellington 6 Christchurch 3 Tauranga 1 Dunedin 1

6 3 Female lawyers

8

1

MOST COMMON AREAS OF SPECIALISATION (self-identified) M&A Joint ventures Securities law Corporate structuring Administrative law Litigation & dispute resolution Private equity Public offerings Employment law Property Intellectual property 20

10 NUMBER OF LAWYERS

0

IT’S COMMERCIAL, STUPID

A familiar quality ascribed to corporate lawyers is their ‘commerciality’, something generally understood to be a desirable trait. We were thus intrigued when a source for this feature commented that a dealmaker was “commercial, and in a positive way”.

“It’s a compliment,” the source said. We then asked in what context being described as commercial would not be a compliment for a corporate lawyer. It turns out that, in some circles, describing a lawyer as “commercial” is a euphemism for “not keen on technical detail” or “trampling over the finer points of a transaction”.

With this in mind, we adjusted our interview methodology to eliminate any possibility of firms slipping backhanded compliments about their competitors into the mix. ‘Commercial’ has no ulterior meaning as used in this feature.

2014 HOT LIST ANDREW BUTLER

RUSSELL MCVEAGH

ANDREW HARMOS

HARMOS HORTON LUSK

BRYNN GILBERTSON

BELL GULLY

BARRY BROWN

CHAPMAN TRIPP

CATHY QUINN

MINTER ELLISON RUDD WATTS

DAVE WETHERELL

MAYNE WETHERELL

GAVIN MACDONALD

BELL GULLY

GEOF SHIRTCLIFFE

CHAPMAN TRIPP

GRAEME QUIGLEY

RUSSELL MCVEAGH

GRANT DUNN

BUDDLE FINDLAY

GRANT KEMBLE

RUSSELL MCVEAGH

HAYDEN WILSON

KENSINGTON SWAN

JARED ORMSBY

WYNN WILLIAMS

JASON ROGERS

JAMES & WELLS

JEFFREY LAI

ANDERSON CREAGH LAI

JEN CRAWFORD

ANDERSON LLOYD

JEREMY JOHNSON

WYNN WILLIAMS

JOE WINDMEYER

RUSSELL MCVEAGH

JOHN STROWGER

CHAPMAN TRIPP

KATHERINE BECK

SWARBRICK BECK MACKINNON

KEVIN JAFFE

SIMPSON GRIERSON

MAI CHEN

CHEN PALMER

MARK FREEMAN

BELL GULLY

MARK STUART

MINTER ELLISON RUDD WATTS

MARTIN WISEMAN

DLA PHILLIPS FOX

MICHAEL POLLARD

SIMPSON GRIERSON

NEIL MILLAR

MINTER ELLISON RUDD WATTS

NICK WELLS

CHAPMAN TRIPP

PAT BOWLER

RUSSELL MCVEAGH

PIP GREENWOOD

RUSSELL MCVEAGH

RACHAEL BROWN

BELL GULLY

ROGER WALLIS

CHAPMAN TRIPP

SARAH SIMMERS

ANDERSON LLOYD

SIMON COLLETT

HOLLAND BECKETT

SIMON VODANOVICH

BUDDLE FINDLAY

STEPHEN LOWE

CHAPMAN TRIPP

TAMINA SIMPSON GRIERSON CUNNINGHAM-ADAMS TIM TUBMAN

CHAPMAN TRIPP

APRIL 2014 | 17

COVER FEATURE / HOT LIST 2014

MIXED BLESSINGS

Lawyers who headlined the deals environment following the partial privatisation of strategic government assets

The NZ government’s Mixed Ownership Model or partial privatisation of key assets has certainly given the deals environment a much-needed jolt.

Four asset selldowns have either already occurred or are currently in train: energy companies Meridian, Mighty River Power and Genesis, and national carrier Air New Zealand. In this section, we acknowledge some of the firms and lawyers who played key roles in these significant deals. Please note the listing of lawyers is not exhaustive – not all lawyers on these deals were included and some appear in other sections of this feature.

Brynn Gilbertson, Bell Gully

Bell Gully picked up two of the Crown roles on the power selldowns – Mighty River Power and Meridian – and Brynn Gilbertson was involved in both deals, taking the lead adviser spot on Mighty River. One source said Gilbertson was now Bell Gully’s most prominent dealmaker: “You see him around a fair bit. He was on the selldown of Meridian and Mighty River, acting for the government; that gives him a bit of profile in my eyes.”

Another source described Gilbertson as unbelievably resilient. “He’s hard-working, a man of few words, a reputation for getting the deal done.

He’s got very loyal client relationships; he’s been a long-time trusted adviser for Fletcher Building, in particular.” This includes advising Fletcher Building on its NZ$1.3bn takeover of Australia’s Crane Group, New Zealand’s largest on-market takeover of an Australian public company.

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Stephen Lowe, Chapman Tripp Chapman Tripp’s Stephen Lowe had a leading role advising Mighty River Power on all aspects of its IPO and has also been appointed to advise the NZ Treasury on the Genesis Energy selldown.

Other examples of his recent work include advising Maui Capital on the establishment of two private equity funds and investments by those funds, and advising Goodyear & Dunlop Tyres on the sale of its New Zealand Beaurepaires business.

One quality for which Lowe has been singled out for particular praise is versatility: Lowe, well known for his expertise in private equity matters, has had to adapt to a market in which PE activity has been somewhat patchy. “If you built your entire practice around PE, you’d be in a pretty sorry state,” said one source. “Clients like Mighty River Power would have no particular visibility of [Lowe’s] PE practice, but he’s managed to retain more of that general corporate practice brand, covering both the transactional and advisory ends of the spectrum – he’s done that better than most.

You’ve gotta have more than one string to your bow in this market, that’s for sure.” However, there is also a view that PE activity is on the mend in 2014, so maybe the wheel will turn for our long-suffering PE specialists.

Tim Tubman, Chapman Tripp Like Lowe, Tim Tubman is another member of that elite group of dealmakers who have managed to secure leading roles on more than one selldown. In the case of Tubman, those roles were advising the New Zealand government on the sale – by way of an institutional and retail bookbuild – of a 20% stake in Air New Zealand for NZ$365m, and also playing a lead adviser role on the Mighty River Power IPO for MRP. Outside of the government selldowns, Tubman co-heads Chapman Tripp’s China Desk, advising Chinese and international clients on investment matters, including obtaining Overseas Investment Office approvals. He is also a board member of the New Zealand Private Equity and Venture Capital Association.

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Barry Brown, Chapman Tripp It’s been another busy year for Chapman Tripp M&A veteran Barry Brown, who played a leading role in advising the Crown on the Air NZ selldown.

Other landmark deals include advising Foodstuffs Wellington on its merger with Foodstuffs Auckland to form New Zealand’s largest retail grocery operation. Brown, a former chairman of the Chapman Tripp board and a former managing partner of its Wellington office, is a member of the Auditor Regulation Advisory Group of the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants and a former member of the New Zealand Stock Exchange’s Market Surveillance Panel.

Graeme Quigley, Russell McVeagh

Along with Pip Greenwood, who appears later in this list, Graeme Quigley was cited by rival firms as one of Russell McVeagh’s top dealmakers, and his profile has been enhanced by his presence on some significant deals, the most recent of which is his leading role for Genesis on that entity’s selldown. One source described Quigley’s strength as his “technical ability”, but another thought the “trusted adviser” tag was the most apt description here. “He would be seen in NZ as one of those people that the large corporates know as a trusted adviser, pulling in extremely complex deals and doing the hard yards,” the source said. “He has enormous energy levels and is seen as a person with huge integrity.”

Quigley also had a leading role advising Fonterra on its corporate restructure and Trading Among Farmers program.

Mark Freeman, Bell Gully Mark Freeman is described as Bell Gully’s senior statesman in Wellington and was the firm’s lead lawyer advising the Crown on the Meridian selldown.

“He’s a guy who gets the deal done, calls a spade a spade,” said one source.

It is interesting to observe the way Bell Gully dealmakers are described. Gavin Macdonald, featured later in this list, is described as a lawyer who “doesn’t do much talking about stuff he doesn’t need to, but is very effective”. Brynn Gilbertson is described as “hard-working, a man of few words, a reputation for getting the deal done”. It should come as no surprise, then, to hear that Freeman is “plain speaking, no nonsense, laconic, with long-standing loyal client relationships”. Should we conclude that Bell Gully’s corporate team are not given to flowery speech and verbosity? The perception was not dispelled when we put the question to chairman Roger Partridge, himself a straight shooter. “It’s good to have a house style,” he affirmed.

Joe Windmeyer, Russell McVeagh

Joe Windmeyer is another Russell McVeagh lawyer who will be appearing on the Genesis selldown.

That particular IPO, however, will be far from the only significant equity deal on Windmeyer’s CV: he was also one of a collective of Russell McVeagh lawyers who took lead roles in advising Fonterra on the highly complex collection of deals related to the Trading Among Farmers program. That NZ$8.9bn deal – which involved the simultaneous launch of a new securities market, the Fonterra Shareholders’ Market, and the initial public offer of securities in a new fund, the Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund – was regarded by many as the standout equity deal of 2012. This certainly didn’t do Windmeyer’s reputation any harm. “He’s scarily smart – he will be down every rabbit hole and know every issue; he’s a safe pair of hands,” said one source.

APRIL 2014 | 19

COVER FEATURE / HOT LIST 2014

THE LAWYER BRANDS

The pros so synonymous with big deals in their firms that they’ve become powerful personal brands in their own right It’s a tough life running the marketing function of a top-flight corporate law firm. In theory at least the firm is a team; a collective in which the effort and kudos are shared in equal measure among the partners. The reality, however, can be somewhat different – every firm has a heavyweight dealmaker who is synonymous with that firm and seems to appear on all the significant deals. We asked the firms to nominate who they thought were the heavyweights at their competitors, and there was a notable consistency in the names that were proffered. Here’s what they had to say.

Cathy Quinn, Minter Ellison Rudd Watts Minter’s Cathy Quinn has built an extensive reputation as a top dealmaker, according to firms.

“She’s seen as a person who gets deals done; she’s very pragmatic.

She’s very good at getting herself on deals, very aggressive. She seems to do a good job for clients and they seem to rate her very highly,” said one source. Another described Quinn as “very client centric, very much dives into what the client is after from a transaction or a negotiation and is tenacious”. They said: “It’s a small market and sometimes in New Zealand lawyers have their eye on the next deal and the next client, but Cathy is absolutely devoted to what the client wants from their transaction.”

Another source wanted to know why Quinn hadn’t moved to a “top” firm, although they acknowledged that her current location made sense. “She’s the big fish in that pond and very well regarded for it,” they said. “There’s only so much room for the deal-doers and only so many deals without getting conflicted. She’s a fantastic person in the right place to do that as they don’t have so many conflicts [at Minter].”

Quinn is also the firm’s chair and, with managing partner Mark Weenink and their team, has overseen notable growth in revenues of over 30% in four years. Minter is now focusing on organic growth, after its previous strategy of lateral hires.

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Gavin Macdonald, Bell Gully Bell Gully was described as having a “very good suite” of dealmakers, including Gavin Macdonald, James Gibson, Brynn Gilbertson and Haydn Wong. “It depends on the flavour you like, but the senior partner is Gavin. He’s very commercial and a very good deal lawyer to work with. James is seen as a younger version of Gavin,” said one rival. Another source said Macdonald didn’t need to do any schmoozing with clients to bring in work. “He doesn’t do much talking about stuff he doesn’t need to, but he’s very effective,” they said.

Indeed, Macdonald is known for the longevity of his client relationships. Several firms commented on his long relationship with Rank Group, approaching its 25th year, and with Air NZ, which Macdonald advised on its recent partial selldown.

Mai Chen, Chen Palmer

Best-selling legal author and Auckland University lecturer Mai Chen has been a growing voice on public radio and writes a column in a major newspaper. Her work has continued to be ground breaking, advising big corporates and quasi-public sector organisations from her boutique firm. Her clients range from Origin Energy to the NZ Racing Industry Board.

John Strowger, Chapman Tripp

Unsurprisingly, several firms named M&A veteran John Strowger as a leading adviser. “He delivers commercial answers and thinks like a business person. That’s his standout feature,” said one source.

Strowger is one of the lead lawyers who will advise the Crown on the Genesis selldown. Other recent deals include advising Fisher Funds on its successful acquisition of Tower Investments for NZ$79m.

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Pip Greenwood, Russell McVeagh

Rival firms were generous in their praise of Russell McVeagh’s Pip Greenwood. “Pip’s the big brand there – we would rate her above everyone else at Russell McVeagh,” said one source. Another source said that Greenwood was known for her “fearless, forthright style” and also her organisational ability. “She’s not only a great lawyer but she also has an excellent project management style in terms of pulling things together – she knows what matters and what doesn’t,” said another source. “She’s very good at cutting the crap and getting to the heart of the matter.”

Jeremy Johnson, Wynn Williams Johnson received the Cleary Prize in 2009 for New Zealand’s most promising young legal practitioner, and hasn’t disappointed. Back then, he had just become the youngest counsel to appear before the Supreme Court in 2008, and since then he has grown to become an accomplished litigator specialising in commercial, equity and trust law.

Johnson continues to be regularly published in leading journals and is a member of the Legislation Advisory Committee, which reviews proposed legislation for the Attorney-General and Parliament.

Simon Vodanovich, Buddle Findlay Buddle Findlay senior corporate partner Simon Vodanovich was cited by rivals as a respected name in the dealmaking world.

“His name does come up, and considering that he’s at a second-tier firm, those people have to do quite well to get noticed in those firms. He seems to be another guy who is good at getting deals done,” said one source.

Without seeking to buy into the perennial debate about the demarcation of top tier and second tier, the source seems to have made a fair point in that a lawyer outside the traditional ‘three’ would have to work just a little bit harder to establish themselves.

Recent deals for Vodanovich include acting for Olam on the selldown of its stake in Open Country Dairy, acting for Infratil on the acquisition of its stake in Metlifecare and the Z Energy IPO, and acting for the joint lead managers of the Meridian Energy IPO.

Kevin Jaffe, Simpson Grierson

Simpson Grierson chairman Kevin Jaffe’s recent work includes the Solid Energy restructuring and Hirepool’s purchase of Hirequip. Like many lawyers, Jaffe is seeing some positive trends emerging in the deal environment. “The talk in NZ is that the market generally is picking up … there was a lot more transaction activity last year, which is great,” he said. “Also, some of the deals that were done some time ago through the funds are now needing to be reshaped, so that brings some activity in itself.”

Kathryn Beck, Swarbrick Beck Mackinnon

Kathryn Beck has had an interesting run of activity.

The Swarbrick Beck Mackinnon partner has advised in a number of leading cases, facilitating a range of high-level unionemployer relationships. Beck is also a vice president of the NZ Law Society, taking a leading role in the evolving legal framework, both currently in her vice presidency and previously as a convener of the NZLS Employment Law Committee.

Martin Wiseman, DLA Phillips Fox

When retail giant Foodstuffs, franchiser of PAK’nSAVE and other well-known grocery brands, went shopping for a dealmaker last year, they chose DLA Phillips Fox chairman Martin Wiseman.

Wiseman, who has acted for the Foodstuffs entities for many years, was lead adviser to the merger parties on a deal that saw Foodstuffs Wellington – an industrial and provident society – and Foodstuffs Auckland, a company, create a merged cooperative with annual revenues of greater than NZ$6bn.

APRIL 2014 | 21

COVER FEATURE / HOT LIST 2014

LANDMARK ACHIEVEMENTS

Lawyers who have recently enjoyed notable and defining moments in their careers In this section, we pay tribute to the lawyers who have particular reasons to remember 2014 as a key point in their professional careers. The reasons may be obvious – for example, a significant anniversary – or more subtle, such as a coming of age in the eyes of the market; a sudden purple patch on the deals front; or overcoming a hurdle to success.

Dave Wetherell, Mayne Wetherell In April, one of Auckland’s more unique firms will celebrate its 10th birthday.

Yes, it’s been 10 years since ex-Russell McVeagh partners Dave Wetherell and Laurie Mayne broke away to form boutique corporate and finance practice Mayne Wetherell. Key clients on the corporate side include private equity firm TPG and the Masthead group, and in banking and finance the firm is known for its relationship with Fonterra, for whom it performs all finance work. Other major clients include Transpower, Auckland Airport, Auckland Council, the four local banks, and many global institutions and investment banks.

Wetherell said striking out on your own requires some mettle.

“Assuming you’re leaving one of the large firms, the key issue in determining whether to establish a boutique firm is to try and truly work out whether a practice is personal or institutional,” he said. “That’s what keeps you awake at night. It worked out very well for us because we had the support from day one of some very strong global and local clients, which gave us a solid base to grow from.”

Will we see more boutiques entering the market? “Looking at the demographic of the present partner universe in the top five firms or so – and the style of younger partner that seems to be being made up – while a boutique tax practice is possible, in terms of finance and/or corporate it’s probably run its course for now,” said Wetherell. “You might continue to see a few older guys putting a shingle up, but that is a very different proposition to establishing a new firm with longevity in mind, so I don’t think you’re going to see a flood of new credible boutiques emerging in the short to medium term.”

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Wetherell acknowledges that the traditional full-service model is under pressure, but adds that this is reflective of the challenges facing the legal market generally, particularly the top end. “I don’t think full service versus boutique is the real issue; there will always be room for both. Rather, the issue is how firms respond to the apparently shrinking pool of top-end work and the cost pressures associated with that,” he says. “Culture, not size, is the key determinant, but the beauty of a boutique, as against full service, is it permits flexibility and innovation and presents the ability to break down the silo mentality evident in full-service offerings.

Put it this way, I’m glad I am where I am.”

Wetherell is included in this section as a nod to the collective achievements of the firm over the past decade. However, Wetherell the dealmaker has also been busy. His recent work includes advising TPG on the New Zealand aspects of the purchase of Australia’s biggest poultry producer, Ingham Enterprises, for about A$880m, and advising Fonterra on its five-year NZ$250m ‘‘dim sum” bond issue.

Grant Kemble, Russell McVeagh Grant Kemble recently returned to Russell McVeagh following a stint overseas with his family. CEO Gary McDiarmid says Kemble is definitely on his way back. “In revenue terms he’s getting up to be one of the high performers here again, which says a great deal for someone who came back with nothing.” However, it is not simply a case of dusting off the Rolodex – Kemble is determined not to take the easier path of “fishing back in the same pond”, and has set himself the task of attracting new work from new clients.

“He’s doing lots of deals around the place, but they tend to be the ones that aren’t well known, so he’s carving his way back up again,” said McDiarmid.

An example of Kemble’s recent work includes advising the Bathurst Resources group last year on its redomicilation in New Zealand, and full listing on the NZX Main Board, and on its subsequent institutional placement and share purchase plan.

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Roger Wallis, Chapman Tripp

Roger Wallis is described as the young gun of Chapman Tripp’s corporate offering; the rising star who has come into his own in recent years.

“Historically, Roger has worked with John [Strowger] as a senior associate – Roger was, back in the old days, the walking encyclopaedia on NZ companies and securities law and a superb technical lawyer, maybe not senior enough to develop a broader commercial reputation,” said one source. But things have clearly moved on since then, with Wallis being cited as a prominent dealmaker by many rivals.

Recent deals for Wallis include advising Metlifecare on its ASX listing, NZ$80m institutional placement and share purchase plan, and advising EBOS on its $239m placement and rights issue in conjunction with its transformative acquisition of Symbion for $1.1bn. Incidentally, the EBOS deal was led by another of Chapman Tripp’s well-regarded dealmakers, Christchurch-based Alister McDonald.

Sarah Simmers, Anderson Lloyd Sarah Simmers, who heads up the commercial team at Anderson Lloyd, is another dealmaker whose career has gone from strength to strength on the back of some highly noteworthy deals. Last year, she acted for Combined Rural Traders Society on its merger with Farmlands Trading Society, which involved entities with combined historic revenues of NZ$2bn per annum and created a nationwide co-op with 54,000 members.

Simmers also acted for Skeggs Group on its sale of Pacific Shipping to Swire, a transaction that closed in February, and also acted for Farmlands Co-operative on its purchase of the NRM animal feeds business for an undisclosed sum. Simmers is also a guest lecturer for the University of Otago’s advanced company law and banking law classes.

Jeffrey Lai, Anderson Creagh Lai Jeffrey Lai has been a busy man.

The Auckland lawyer recently advised Triodent Holdings and its major shareholder on the landmark sale of dental matrix business Dentsply International, a US multinational listed on the NASDAQ. For Lai, the deal complements a strong technology sector focus, particularly in major technology project development, IT services outsourcing, software commercialisation, and data migration.

Lai is a founding partner and managing director of Auckland firm Anderson Creagh Lai, which advises on corporate structuring and domestic and international business expansion, among other areas.

Jason Rogers, James & Wells Jason Rogers is somewhat unique among lawyers for having a scientific background, in addition to considerable legal experience. The Auckland-based lawyer has shown this can be a lethal combination and has advised on some exciting clients. Rogers specialises in biotechnology and related fields and heads up James & Wells’ Life Sciences Group. He is also a partner at James & Wells Patent and Trademark Attorneys. As a true legal renaissance man, Rogers’ technology work has been coupled with 17 years of advising clients on IP. In 2014, more complex questions of infringement and patentability will be thrown his way.

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COVER FEATURE / HOT LIST 2014

Geof Shirtcliffe, Chapman Tripp There’s a peculiar art to catching the big deals in Wellington. “The big deals only come along in that market about once every two years, and you can’t get them all, but you hope like heck you get them because they make a big difference to your practice if you do,” explained one source.

This brings us to Shirtcliffe and his role on one of last year’s major transactions out of Wellington: acting for Infratil, the New Zealand Superannuation Fund and Z Energy on the latter’s NZ$840m listing on the NZX and the ASX. The Z Energy IPO was New Zealand’s largest listing since Mighty River’s raising in May 2013, another deal in which Chapman Tripp was adviser to the issuer.

Shirtcliffe is also a lead adviser to the Crown on the Genesis selldown.

Hayden Wilson, Kensington Swan

Aside from heading up the Government and Regulatory practice at Kensington Swan’s Wellington office, Hayden Wilson manages to find time to act as the honorary solicitor for the New Zealand University Students’ Association and the Otago University Students’ Association. He is also commissioner of American football in Wellington.

Wilson has appeared in the Court of Appeal, the High Court, and in various other courts and tribunals, including acting for Nga Hapu in proceedings brought by members of the iwi, successfully defending a challenge to the Crown’s decision to recognise Nga Hapu’s mandate to negotiate on behalf of its members.

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Jared Ormsby, Wynn Williams

The Canterbury earthquakes have certainly left their scars on the community, with none more symbolic than the continuing dispute over the future of the historic Christchurch Cathedral.

Jared Ormsby, who is an adviser to the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority, has played a pivotal role in this litigation, acting for the Anglican Church in the Court of Appeal and High Court in relation to the deconstruction of Christchurch Cathedral, and successfully opposing leave before the Supreme Court. This case successfully determined that the Anglican Church was entitled to deconstruct the iconic Christchurch Cathedral and build a new cathedral in its stead.

It’s a divisive issue, but without doubt one of the most significant matters of national importance to come before the courts in recent times. It continues a string of high-profile cases for Ormsby, who is also Wynn Williams’ executive chairman.

Mark Stuart, Minter Ellison Rudd Watts

Minter’s head of corporate in Auckland, Mark Stuart, is known for his ability to keep a cool head under pressure. “People say that he’s unflappable; there’s been some high-tension deals lately where people have got fairly excited and he’s managed to bring the whole thing together and keep everybody calm,” said one source.

While all of the lawyers featured in this section could be said to be on a roll, in Stuart’s case that might apply literally, with one of his recent deals being advising Tourism Holdings Limited on the merger of its campervan business with United Campervans and KEA Campers, a transformational deal for the industry. Stuart also advised Affinity Equity Partners on the acquisition of Tegel Foods, working in conjunction with Minter Ellison Sydney. The deal was Affinity’s first New Zealand transaction.

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Neil Millar, Minter Ellison Rudd Watts

Neil Millar is an interesting example of a dealmaker who has prospered following a change of firms. Previously at Kensington Swan, Millar has managed to double the size of his practice since his recent move to Minter. “He’s an excellent business accumulator who loves getting deals done – he is just prolific,” said one source. “His clients love him; he’s a very garrulous Scotsman with a deep emotional tie with clients.”

Millar’s private equity clients include Advent Capital, Champ and New Zealand Equity Partners, and he recently assisted Equity Partners in acquiring Amalgamated Hardware Merchants.

Michael Pollard, Simpson Grierson

Simpson Grierson’s head of corporate and commercial has had another productive year, capped by a role advising China’s Bright Dairy & Food Company on the NZ$120m IPO of Synlait Milk.

“He’s a very dynamic dealmaker – hungry and really solution-focused; very keen to find ways to get through problems. He’s just a very effective and energetic dealmaker,” said one source.

Other significant recent deals for Pollard include advising Craigs Investment Partners, First NZ Capital, Forsyth Barr, and Macquarie Capital on the $155m block trade of Quadrant Private.

Grant Dunn, Buddle Findlay Grant Dunn has had an interesting run of late, with deals ranging from vineyards to plantation forests to kiwifruit post-harvest operators – perhaps an indicator of the kinds of assets and deals that will only grow in prominence as the agribusiness sector hots up.

Recent deals for Dunn include advising Canadian pension fund PSP Investments on its acquisition of a 30% stake in the Kaingaroa forest (New Zealand’s largest forest) and partnership arrangements with Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation and Harvard University. He advised the Mud House Wine Group on the sale of its wine brands and other assets to Accolade Wines and the sale of 400 hectares of vineyards to CK Life Sciences. He also advised rural supply cooperative Farmlands Trading Society on its merger with CRT to form one of New Zealand’s largest cooperatives (54,000 shareholders), and kiwifruit post-harvest operators Aerocool and Apata on their merger.

Pat Bowler, Russell McVeagh

He may have recently moved into a consultant role, but there’s no doubt that Wellington-based Pat Bowler continues to have a significant profile in the market. He’s a veteran of some transformative deals over the past decade, including the formation of Fonterra in 2001 and the rejuvenation of the New Zealand rail industry in 2011; more recently he has been a key adviser to the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority on its response to the serious quake damage in Christchurch. This was innovative work in a tight timeframe that required the development of a legal framework for insurance coverage of damaged residential properties in the Christchurch Red Zone.

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COVER FEATURE / HOT LIST 2014

PILLARS OF THE COMMUNITY

Recognising lawyers who made significant contributions to good causes Thousands of hours are donated every year by New Zealand lawyers to good causes: from heritage conservation to community legal advice to the celebration of diversity. These lawyers get involved in such work because of a personal engagement with their cause. They’re not out to seek publicity, but just this once we’re going to put some of them in the spotlight and recognise their efforts.

Simon Collett, Holland Beckett Simon Collett is no stranger to community causes. The Tauranga lawyer acts as a board member at the Bay of Plenty Cricket Association Inc and is a member of the YMCA’s National Board (sitting in Wellington). As if this wasn’t enough devotion to charitable initiatives, the partner at Holland Beckett is also trustee of a number of other charity-related organisations and an associate member of the Institute of Logistics and Transport in New Zealand.

Collett specialises in property and trusts, with an emphasis on mortgagee sales, residential and retirement developments, rental property portfolios and Public Works Act matters.

Rachael Brown, Bell Gully

Andrew Harmos, Harmos Horton Lusk Who says art and lawyers can’t mix? As a trustee of the Arts Foundation of New Zealand, businessman and philanthropist Andrew Harmos has make a significant contribution to the New Zealand art landscape and also sits as a trustee of the McCahon House Trust. The initiative was established to restore and preserve Colin McCahon’s house in French Bay, Auckland, and establish a residency for artists in his honour.

Harmos also continues to stand out as a legal entrepreneur. He is the founding director of specialist corporate/commercial firm Harmos Horton Lusk. Despite this, he has been no stranger to corporate structures – he was appointed a director of NZX in 2002 and is a director of ASX-listed Westfield Retail Trust. Harmos is also fund manager at investment companies Elevation Capital Management Ltd and Pascaro Investments Ltd.

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Wellington-based Bell Gully partner Rachael Brown is currently responsible for arranging secondments of the firm’s junior lawyers to community law centres in Wellington and Hutt Valley, the objective being to provide a solicitor to assist for one day each week on a pro bono basis.

Brown herself is described as a “prolific” pro bono practitioner with a number of clients, including home healthcare and support provider Access Homehealth. “As a charitable organisation faced with litigation ... we were potentially incurring costs that could have limited our ongoing charitable activities throughout New Zealand.

[Bell Gully’s] assistance in meeting the costs of these legal fees has been a substantial assistance to our organisation,” said Access CEO Graeme Titcombe.

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Nick Wells, Chapman Tripp Building relationships with Maori communities has been a particular focal point for New Zealand firms in a CSR context. One example of a dedicated practitioner in this space is Chapman Tripp’s Nick Wells, who leads the firm’s Maori Services Group, Te Waka Ture.

Wells was a member of the Treaty Team for Ngati Whatua Orakei and he assists a number of community organisations, including the Te Potiki National Trust, the Sir Hugh Kawharu Foundation, the Sir Peter Blake Trust and the First Foundation.

His recent pro bono work includes Structuring and Treaty Settlement arrangements for the Parahirahi Trust as the owners of the Ngawha hot springs, and advising the Motu Kokako Ahu Whenua Trust on a high-profile dispute with tourism operators about access rights to the Hole in the Rock.

Jen Crawford, Anderson Lloyd The Christchurch rebuild has been a matter close to the hearts of not only locals but also the nation at large. It is therefore with some pleasure that we are able to acknowledge Anderson Lloyd partner Jen Crawford and her work on the restoration of the Arts Centre of Christchurch. This project, believed to be the largest heritage project currently being undertaken in the world, involves an NZ$290m, seven-year post-earthquake program to restore a cluster of heritage buildings and rebuild the city’s cultural heart.

Crawford is chair of the Arts Centre of Christchurch Trust Board, giving her time on a pro bono basis.

“Jen is absolutely devoted to the Christchurch Arts Centre, and she lives and breathes its restoration,” said Nicky Wagner, MP for Christchurch Central. “I am impressed by her enthusiasm and the enormous amount of time and energy she has put into ensuring that the Arts Centre will be fully restored with a sustainable operating model for the future. It is quite an achievement.”

Tamina Cunningham-Adams, Simpson Grierson

The Auckland Pride Festival Trust is a non-profit organisation supporting the Rainbow (LGBTIQ) Community, and some of its activities include coordinating the Auckland Pride Parade and festival events in the broader context of building relationships and improving the lives of all Aucklanders, but specifically those connected to LGBTIQ communities.

Tamina Cunningham-Adams, a banking and finance litigation associate, approached the Simpson Grierson board with a proposal to provide pro bono support to the Trust, a proposal that was endorsed with enthuasiasm by the board. Simpson Grierson is sponsoring the Auckland Pride Festival for the first time this year.

We were particularly impressed by a glowing reference supplied by David Coltman, co-chair of the Auckland Pride Festival Trust. “The guidance and support of Tamina has meant that we have been able to protect the interests of funders, our community and those volunteers who have contributed to bringing the celebration of our diversity back to the streets of Auckland,” he wrote.

Andrew Butler, Russell McVeagh Andrew Butler, as convenor of the New Zealand Law Society’s Human Rights and Privacy Committee, has dedicated his time to fostering the broader national dialogue on human rights, devoting many hours to the review of proposed legislation and government policy papers from a human rights perspective.

However, this is far from the full extent of Butler’s pro bono activities; other examples include managing his firm’s long-standing relationship with the Wellington Community Law Centre, and assisting the trans-Tasman charity So They Can in registering as a charitable institution.

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GENERAL COUNSEL / AIG

GLOBAL AIG general counsel Richard Shine tells Aidan Devine how the Canterbury earthquakes have created an insurance environment that is spurring new opportunities for firms

On an icy March evening in 2011 an army of All Blacks shirts gathered for the most unlikely of vigils.

Picketing signs outside a small pub, they began a fundraising initiative for victims of the Christchurch earthquake, but with a twist.

Considering the catastrophe had occurred just weeks before, it wasn’t the event’s timing or altruism that made it distinctive, but its location. It wasn’t in New Zealand. It wasn’t in Australia. It was in Seoul, South Korea – by some measures, the other side of the world. It served as a reminder of just how much of an impact the earthquake had. News travels fast, as the cliché goes, but it also travels far. For insurers like AIG, that presents a unique challenge.

“The earthquakes are probably the biggest reputational issue we face,” says AIG general counsel Richard Shine. “We’ve cleared close to 90% of our claims from the disaster. Those left are of a very technical nature, which we are in the process of getting resolved. AIG has outperformed the market, but the industry as a whole has been the subject of criticism.”

There can be little doubt the general perception of New Zealand insurance companies has been badly affected by the catastrophe, whether deserved or not. Picketers here and abroad may have initially focused on the human suffering the disaster inflicted, but, fanned by the media, a lot of that attention has slowly turned to insurance companies.

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AFTERSHOCKS Critically, as was the case with the initial news of the tragedy, word has also occasionally spread to even the most obscure corners of the globe – a sobering thought for AIG, which operates in some 130 countries.

“You find people saying, three years in, that the industry has failed to respond as quickly as it should,” Shine says. “I can understand why, as an industry, it has been difficult to explain the complications, but the fact remains that insurance has been a fundamentally good thing for New Zealand.”

Shine says that because insurance firms have a high penetration in New Zealand, they’ve been able to soften the blow of earthquake-related damage, paying out more than NZ$10bn. This has put the Christchurch earthquake behind only Japan’s 2011 earthquake and tsunami as the most expensive quake in history for insured losses.

Insured losses do not include the full economic cost of a natural disaster, because not everyone or every business is insured. Insurance policies also do not cover all aspects of a risk or subsequent loss.

“The industry’s challenge is getting the message across to people that at the end of the day, if this country hadn’t had such a high level of insurance, the disaster would have been a lot more expensive for people,” Shine says.

new and challenging area, which will demand ongoing support from the legal industry to ensure that insurance companies are compliant with both the spirit and letter of the regulations,” says Shine.

He adds that litigation appears to be increasingly common in New Zealand, driven by stricter regulations and the way in which companies do business.

“We believe this trend will continue. Inevitably, as an insurance company, we are called upon to work with our clients to manage the risks and work with legal counsel on any litigation that follows. Understanding the changing needs and processes of insurers will continue to challenge law firms.”

THE LEGAL OPPORTUNITY

“The earthquakes are probably the biggest reputational issue we face”

The Canterbury earthquakes have had a profound effect on the regulatory environment of the insurance industry, increasing the scope at which industry heavyweights like AIG are engaging law firms.

Following the first quake in 2010, which helped nearly collapse AMI Insurance, the Reserve Bank was given the task of regulating the insurance industry. This culminated, last year, in a licensing regime that saw the number of potential insurers fall from 151 to 96.

“Regulators are now taking a very strict view on supervision and regulatory compliance. This is a

ENGAGEMENT WITH FIRMS To meet the new challenge, AIG recently formalised its process of appointing law firms. This saw a panel of companies being selected to undertake a range of corporate and claims work for AIG in the future.

The panel will be reviewed in two years.

“Globally the company is looking to strengthen and develop our offering,” Shine says. “That has made us rationalise various processes, and that includes dealing with our external lawyers.”

Another reason for formalising AIG’s sourcing of external lawyers was to ensure better feedback on its own instruction to firms.

“We are part of a global village, whether we like it or not, and working cross border on certain types of issues is going to be a big part of what lawyers in the AIG stable do. If firms are prepared to work with us and grow with us, then we are confident that it will prove to be mutually beneficial.”

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GENERAL COUNSEL / AIG

be no surprises and it is much easier for us to work with them.

AD: Is that your biggest frustration, hidden costs?

As a lawyer in private practice myself for many years, I believe you can get around that by just knowing you have the expertise to say how much you think something is going to cost. I’d suggest lawyers develop relationships with clients who accept that you’re giving them an honest price and aren’t just looking for the lowest quote. The danger is where law firms become overly cut-throat and start undercutting each other. Then their estimates become misleading and they discover they can’t do work for the price they originally estimated.

Eventually, they backpedal. This makes it really difficult for us. In that situation, we’ve already told our people what something is going to cost based on the estimates.

In his own words: Richard Shine AD: How do you decide which firms are compatible with AIG? Fees are obviously important to us, but equally important is genuine expertise in the field. We want lawyers who can demonstrate technical ability but also a pragmatic, solutions-focused approach.

Someone who can come back to us, not only with very technical answers but also a way forward and a suggestion on how to deal with the situation. I think this ultimately boils down to a proactive, teamwork approach. We want a sense that the lawyer is with us for the long haul.

AD: Do you feel firms are being transparent with pricing?

It’s a conundrum. Some firms are very good at explaining their fees and working with the client to ensure that there are no surprises. Others are not as good. It’s a very individual thing.

To me, lawyers need to give estimates at the start of a transaction and be prepared to stand behind them. We often find that there are too many caveats in estimates, which make them pointless. When lawyers are prepared to give a genuine estimate, stick to it and work with us to achieve it, there will 30 | APRIL 2014

AD: When hiring lawyers, what does getting value for money mean for AIG? Many factors. For one, we don’t want to have to pay for learning time. We expect lawyers to have the knowledge. There will obviously be different levels of expertise, so it is relative, but generally we expect them to bring their best game. As an insurance company, we deal in claims, which often have very technical questions. With the courts, things can turn on a few words. We need attention to details and technical skills, but balanced with a pragmatic approach. Lawyers who do that in a timely way will be well on their way to delivering very satisfactory service.

AD: Do lawyers follow up on their service? Does this influence whether you use them again?

Some do, some don’t. Going forward, this is something we are formalising through our panel process.

It goes both ways, of course. We also need to be giving good direction and need feedback on it. Did a firm quote us a certain figure based on information we gave them that was actually wrong? Fundamentally, it is slightly patchy and could always be better.

I’d like to see external lawyers taking a more proactive stance. That includes letting us know they are cognisant of law changes or interesting discussions in Parliament, for example. I don’t mean expensive brochures. A simple email to say “this might be of interest” would do. That kind of involvement, I feel, will best serve law firms working with AIG. NZL

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PROFILE / ROGER PARTRIDGE

The seven year itch This year marks Roger Partridge’s seventh and last at the helm of one of New Zealand’s largest law firms – yet the Bell Gully chairman is firmly focused on the future Roger Partridge’s self-effacing demeanour belies the obvious passion the Bell Gully chairman has for his firm as he discusses the issues facing it. In his seventh year at the helm of what is arguably New Zealand’s largest legal practice, he would be entirely justified in blowing his own horn – not only did Partridge pull Bell Gully through the GFC unscathed, but he actually expanded its reach. Yet, when talking about his remarkable achievements, Roger quickly reverts to collective pronouns.

“I think I’d like to be remembered for helping navigate the firm, successfully, through the most challenging economic conditions the country has faced in the last 50 years – and during that period we’ve grown our footprint. We’ve brought on 16 new partners, fabulous new partners. We’ve enhanced our reputation as what I like to think is New Zealand’s best law firm,” he says.

BELL GULLY’S ASIAN STRATEGY A key component of Bell Gully’s success has been its international expansion strategy, particularly in Asia. Rather than looking at setting up shop in key Asian economic centres, however, Partridge says the firm has tailored its approach to focus on incoming investment.

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“Our Asian strategy is principally focused on attracting foreign direct investment into New Zealand – so the legal work involved in overseas corporations investing locally. Our focus is on building relationships with referral firms – international firms that are likely to refer their clients to us when they come to do a transaction in New Zealand,” Partridge says.

However, he admits that Bell Gully has been less successful to date in building direct relationships with major Asian corporates before they look to invest in New Zealand. He says the size of the local economy “is sometimes just too small for us to get noticed”.

WOMEN AT BELL GULLY A core internal focus during Partridge’s tenure has been improving Bell Gully’s track record in converting talented female staff into partners.

When he took over in 2007, just 8% of partners at the firm were women. Though he admits the situation is still far from perfect, Partridge says understanding the nuances involved in promoting gender diversity within the partnership are a major priority.

“The issue of the number of women in the partnership is a perplexing one. Our record as a firm in bringing the really talented women we recruit from universities through into partnership has been relatively poor.”

While women have comprised 50–60% of Bell Gully’s new recruits for a long time, and that gender balance is maintained for the next three to five years, women make up only a tiny fraction of those who make partnership.

“I think there is a mixture of reasons for the gender imbalance. Work-life balance is an issue,

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PROFILE / ROGER PARTRIDGE

but also we miss out on diversity of thought and approach,” he says.

BELL GULLY IN A BROADER CONTEXT

“We’ve brought on 16 new partners, fabulous new partners. We’ve enhanced our reputation as what I like to think is New Zealand’s best law firm” and I think New Zealanders coming back from London, where there is much more of a nanny culture and a boarding-school culture, don’t come back to replicate the lifestyle they had in London but for the work-life balance that New Zealand offers,” Partridge says.

The percentage of female partners at Bell Gully now sits at somewhere around 16%, nearly double what it was when Partridge started out – but he is hoping to see that figure hit 25% by 2015. “[This figure] doesn’t sound all that aspirational – we’re expecting to get there before that – but we wanted to set a challenge that was workable and achievable.

“Fundamentally, I think it’s a waste of human talent if we don’t bring our talented women through and retain them in the partnership. To back up our reasoning, I think gender diversity is important to performance of the overall business, not just because we miss out on the investment in the people we’ve recruited and then trained 34 | APRIL 2014

The global legal industry has changed dramatically since Partridge took the reins at Bell Gully seven years ago. A recent article by DLA Piper global CEO Sir Nigel Knowles claimed law firms face three options when it comes to the future: go global, go super niche, or go bust. Knowles argued that in a post-GFC climate clients want more from their legal counsel for less, and that competition between firms is fiercer than ever.

However, while Partridge accepts many of Knowles’s arguments in a broader sense, he doesn’t believe they’re necessarily directly transferable to the New Zealand market.

“Now, I’m conscious that the Australian firms said that – and the international firms have arrived in Australia with a vengeance over the last few years. But Australia did account – and still accounts – for a huge portion of China’s offshore investment in the mineral sector. As a destination for Chinese capital, we are tiny by comparison …

We just don’t have the scale in our economy to create the demand for the presence of the major international firms here.”

Bell Gully’s referral relationships in Australia have altered due to the slew of mergers and alliances across the Tasman, and the firm has a need to adapt to the new legal landscape in Australia and elsewhere, but Partridge doesn’t believe New Zealand is likely to become the target of major multinational firms anytime soon.

“I don’t think we’re going to end up with that disruption here, and certainly not in the next five years. I think the dilemma posted by Sir Nigel is a real issue for law firms in big jurisdictions, but the relative size of the New Zealand market means that, in a way, we’re niche firms even though we’re big in our local market.”

CHALLENGES AHEAD That doesn’t mean the fate of the local legal industry is set to remain static. Partridge believes there are a number of issue facing firms in the near future, particularly when it comes to meeting clients’ expectations.

“Meeting the diverse needs of clients who want both strategic advice from their outside counsel and the ability to do operational legal work efficiently and cost-effectively [will be a major

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Stats issue]. We are well set up for the former but not so well for the latter. That is something we, as a firm, are focused on. If we don’t do so, law firms – big and small – will lose out to alternative legal services providers.”

And then of course there’s the economy, both local and global. Although New Zealand has forecast growth and healthy public sector finances, Partridge believes we are still very vulnerable to a further shock. However, while many analysts claim business takes a downturn during election years, Partridge says initial discussions with Bell Gully staff and clients have failed to detect any significant reservations.

“The upcoming election creates some uncertainty for the business community, but I think our clients … would see both of the major parties as likely to lead stable, relatively fiscally conservative governments, so I don’t think the election poses too much of a threat for the legal market – and certainly not over the next two years.”

One thing Partridge says Bell Gully is aiming to do is improve on selling its specialist expertise in areas like climate change and geothermal electricity generation work, offshore, especially in southeast Asia and the South Pacific.

“I don’t see us conquering the global legal market from New Zealand, but I do believe we have the ability to offer our expertise in partnership with our overseas referral firms.”

CLOSING ARGUMENT On a more personal level, however, Roger is thoroughly looking forward to moving back into full-time practice.

“When I took the role [of chairman] on, I indicated to partners that I thought three to five years would be long enough, probably for both me and for them! Bell Gully is a wonderful firm to be a partner in and it’s been a pleasure to be in the leadership role, but this is my seventh year, which I think is long enough.”

Partridge started preparing to return to fulltime practice two years ago and has been steadily building his practice up. He hopes his term as Bell Gully chairman will be remembered fondly by the industry and those he worked with through a remarkably unpredictable period.

“I’d like to be remembered for helping the firm grow, maintaining and enhancing its reputation and its strength through really quite challenging times,” he says, “and having fun doing it”. NZL

Inside the mind of

General Counsels A survey of the in-house law teams at companies around the world reveals what, when and how they are engaging firms  3 MOST IMPORTANT FACTORS WHEN LOOKING FOR A FIRM

 DEALING WITH FIRMS:

68%

of in-house legal teams expect commercial advice beyond pure legal advice from external lawyers

Business expertise Costs and fees

85%

see direct referral as the most trusted source for researching firms

Top rated individuals/ teams within firm

 5 BIGGEST ONGOING CONCERNS

(issue for % of companies)

57% regulation

24%

and compliance

reorganising the legal department to maximise service delivery

34% creating value for the company

31% risk

management

25% anti-bribery and corruption compliance

OTHER BIG CONCERNS:

❚ Managing legal costs ❚ Data protection/security/cyber issues ❚ Issues in emerging markets ❚ Reputational management ❚ Governance

 PERCEPTION OF BIGGEST RISK TO COMPANY IN NEXT 12 MONTHS: ● Compliance threats (e.g. new laws, politics, governance issues) ● Financial/General economic threats ● Threats from those involved in the business (customers, investors etc.) ● Overall threats (e.g. profitable workings of the business)

19% 15%

34%

32%

Source: Global Legal Post General Counsel Excellence Report

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BUSINESS STRATEGY / POSTGRADUATE STUDY

The true value of POSTGRADUATE STUDY In a legal industry turned bitterly competitive, do lawyers with postgraduate qualifications still provide firms with an edge over their rivals?

Aidan Devine explains why the postgraduate path makes business sense Never mind doctors, anyone staring down the real Shortland Street in Auckland could be forgiven for thinking they were in a legal paradise – or overcrowded hell, depending on their perspective.

The narrow, skyscraper-strewn street, made famous by the soap opera of the same name, has the highest concentration of lawyers in the country, with everything from the biggest firms to the smallest. Finding a law firm here is like finding hay in a haystack. Lawyer numbers are into the upper hundreds. A few blocks away, there are more firms.

For the men and women that ply their trade here, a street overdosed on lawyers isn’t surprising given New Zealand’s astonishing numbers of legal people.

There is close to one lawyer for every 364 Kiwis, giving the country one of the highest rates of lawyers per capita in the world.

The commercial reality of this environment is heart-wrenching. With so much competition for clients it has become hard for firms to survive. The simple law of supply and demand has meant that would-be clients have the power of choice. Where they choose to exercise that choice is not so certain anymore.

It’s for this reason that postgraduate education has endured in the legal imagination. Considered as a way to differentiate lawyers – and the firms they work under – advanced education continues to be explored as an option for practitioners of all types, from senior partners down to those in entry level positions.

“Postgraduate degrees are a great way for firms to establish themselves in niche markets. Through higher expertise they get a cutting edge,” says Paul Myburgh, associate dean of the University of Auckland’s law faculty.

Myburgh says that postgraduate education is a relatively quick and affordable route for firms to upskill their staff. In doing so, they can provide something their competition is short on – specialised knowledge. “You get training you wouldn’t necessarily get on the job,” he says.

Myburgh adds that there is a growing awareness among firms that a globalising legal market has put increased pressure on lawyers to provide something extra.

“In terms of specialist experience, just doing your undergraduate degree isn’t really going to hack it anymore.”

STUDENT TRENDS Part of how postgraduate courses continue to be a 36 | APRIL 2014

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NEW ZEALAND’S SUPPLY OF LAWYERS 700 600

NUMBER OF PROFESSIONALS TO EVERY 100,000 PEOPLE

500 400 300 200 100

ACCOUNTANT

DOCTOR

LAWYER

SECURITY GUARD

POLICE OFFICER

PLUMBER

ARCHITECT

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differentiating factor among lawyers is a growing sense of rarity. Despite the obvious benefits of pursuing a postgraduate qualification, student numbers have failed to grow in most of the country’s universities over the last few years.

Dean of the law faculty at Victoria University of Wellington Tony Smith says one of the reasons is that many firms and lawyers perceive master’s courses as requiring too much commitment.

“Many lawyers think they will have to come down to lectures three times a week, and it’s something they can’t and won’t do. Even if it’s at 6pm they often won’t be finished work. They also have their families to consider,” he says.

Myburgh says that this is equally true at the University of Auckland, but adds that economic conditions have also played a part. “With the global financial crisis we had a couple of years back, law firms are fighting for their existence. They are not willing to fund postgraduate study and allow their staff time to pursue further study. To some extent there is a climate of concern too. Lawyers with existing jobs feel they need to focus on the coalface.”

Source: careers.gov.nz

There is also an attitude among many firms that postgraduate qualifications, while handy, are no substitute for experience. Qualifications like an LLM are often viewed more as a slight advantage

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BUSINESS STRATEGY / POSTGRADUATE STUDY

HOW LLMS IMPROVE YOUR OFFERING

Judith Eller, director of recruitment agency Legal Personnel, explains an LLM’s value LLMs on CVs Does an LLM give a lawyer an advantage? The simple answer is that it depends on the type of law.

Top-tier breakaways tend to employ a lot of people that have LLB honours, LLM and maybe a qualification from overseas, and because that’s their branding, that’s what they often like to see, along with, obviously, evidence of technical skills.

Mid-tier firms are usually more interested in who their candidates are, what they are capable of and what a lawyer’s personality is like.

I would never discourage anyone from doing a postgraduate course. There are some clear benefits.

The prevailing view among many firms is that as soon as they see a candidate with an LLM, they immediately know they’ve got someone

38 | APRIL 2014

that is academically very able. This often gives them confidence in their ability to deal with higher level work.

Positioning yourself In my mind, if you’re a lawyer planning and building qualifications behind yourself, trying to position yourself for the role you want and the clients you want, you will have more success than someone with an LLM in a mix of papers, but not a particular area.

The important thing is to know yourself, what you offer, how you deliver it, and the value you add to the client. That’s really where the market is going. You’ve got to provide what you offer. What have you learned to be good at? How do you create relationships? What can you give the client?

than an absolute one. This has made many sceptical of the value of going back to university.

Louise Alexander is Bell Gully’s senior HR adviser in Wellington and she says that the firm is open to lawyers pursuing further study, but adds that it is not always a route for lawyers to advance through the firm. “We don’t push our people to do it. It’s certainly not a requirement to become a partner,” she says.

Alexander is also quick to point out, however, that the dynamic is slightly different among practice areas that require specialised knowledge. “Many of our people have gone off to study overseas on Fulbright Scholarships and the like. These usually get good outcomes… it depends on the person.”

THE RESPONSE FROM INSTITUTIONS The fact that some practising lawyers are remaining reluctant to pursue masters and honours degrees has forced Kiwi academic institutions to adapt, according to Tony Smith.

“We’re actively trying to make courses more attractive. We’re developing a suite of courses that can be given over weekends and times people will be able to attend. More online learning is to come.”

Smith adds that New Zealand law education has a growing edge over US law schools, for example, because an increasing proportion of teachers are actual practitioners. By contrast, academics in American law schools are often philosophers turned ‘lawyers’.

“The number of American law academics with PhDs in philosophy is astonishing. The result is that academics there are not writing for the courts, not writing for the judges. But we are. Our work is consistently read by the courts and relied on by the courts and is therefore relied on by people in practice.”

Part of the way universities have also adapted to the

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changing needs of lawyers is by offering more than just honours and masters courses.

The University of Auckland’s law faculty is one example of a New Zealand education institution that offers postgraduate certificates. Lawyers can sample two LLM papers, getting a certificate of proficiency in whatever subjects interest them.

Another option, for those seeking knowledge purely for its intrinsic value, is to attend classes purely as an observer. This allows practitioners to sit in on masters’ lectures (for a fee) without having to do the assessment tasks.

A QUESTION OF VALUE

QS WORLD UNIVERSITY RANKINGS FOR LAW (2013)

1 Harvard University 2 University of Cambridge 3 University of Oxford 4 Yale University 5 The University of Melbourne *19 Victoria University of Wellington [NZ] Source: TopUniversities.com

Of course, one of the reasons many lawyers undertake postgraduate education is simply for survival. Associate dean of law at the University of Waikato Neil Boister says that the current job market remains tough for a lot of lawyers and getting a qualification like an LLM isn’t just about them becoming more attractive to potential clients – it’s about getting their foot in a firm’s door.

Boister says that the majority of postgraduate

students within his faculty are inexperienced lawyers who have just finished their LLB. He believes that for these people, the true value of postgraduate education isn’t so much in making them more competitive in the job market, but in giving students lifelong skills.

“You become very proficient at using research methods by doing a masters because you do it often and independently. There are also certain niche subjects you are not going to be exposed to in your LLB,” Boister says.

Paul Myburgh agrees. “It’s short-sighted to imagine you can learn everything on the job.

You need something far more intensive if you’re going to provide clients with cutting edge service.

“Postgraduate courses give lawyers something demonstrable. They can point clients to a degree which has qualified them in a higher level of expertise. Yes, there are skills you only learn on the job, but it’s not a case of one or the other. Increasingly, lawyers need both.” NZL

*24 University of Auckland [NZ] *32 University of Otago [NZ]

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FEATURE / INSURANCE

Insurance law’s As earthquake claims clear, lawyers are dealing with new insurance risks, and the implications of the Steigard decision. Sarah Megginson reports

NEW

In February of this year, the third anniversary of the Canterbury earthquake that claimed 185 lives was quietly acknowledged in the offices of Wynn Williams Lawyers in Riccarton, Christchurch.

There wasn’t much time to reflect; partner Richard Johnstone and his team were too busy working on earthquake-related insurance cases to pause for long.

“It’s interesting to me when people outside Christchurch – even New Zealanders in other cities – are surprised that we’re still dealing with ongoing earthquake issues,” Johnstone says.

40 | APRIL 2014

“They don’t realise that we don’t yet have a CBD, and that so many houses are still to be fixed. It has been such a complex situation as there are so many factors to consider, from the engineering aspects that affect the rebuild, to the fact that there are real emotions involved. People’s homes and livelihoods are on the line.” From a legal perspective, he adds, “it’s been a fantastic time to be an insurance lawyer practising here”.

In the three years since the 6.3 magnitude quake brought Christchurch’s city centre to its knees, a lot of headway has been made in processing claims.

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HORIZON “We’re moving into the ‘hard’ claims, as those claims that can be settled, to a large extent, have been. The claims that remain revolve around some really difficult issues for both insurers and policyholders,” Johnstone says. “There are still 50 CBD buildings to be demolished; they are primarily on hold due to unresolved building claims.”

The complexity of navigating the insurance process is not helped by the two-layer insurance scheme that operates for house repairs.

The Earthquake Commission (EQC), which provides natural disaster insurance for residential

property and administers the Natural Disaster Fund, steps in to resolve all property claims valued between $10,000 and $100,000. For house repair or rebuild claims above $100,000, the relevant private insurer steps in.

Insurers, for their part, have tried to clear the backlog of claims as efficiently as possible, says Andrew Horne, partner, Minter Ellison Rudd Watts Lawyers. “They’ve gone from having a few house fires a year to having thousands of claims, but they’ve ramped up their resources to appropriately deal with them,” he explains.

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FEATURE / INSURANCE

DISASTERS OF THE LAST 10 YEARS – AND THE INSURANCE LOSSES Superstorm Sandy (USA, 2012) – $35bn  Japan earthquake and tsunami (Japan, 2011) – $35bn  Thailand floods (Thailand, 2011) – $12bn  Canterbury earthquakes (NZ, 2010 and 2011) – $14bn  Chile earthquake and tsunami (Chile, 2010) – $8bn  Hurricane Katrina (Gulf of Mexico, 2005) – $45bn  Indian Ocean seaquake (Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, 2004) – $5bn

“There are so many factors to consider, from the engineering aspects that affect the rebuild, to the fact that there are real emotions involved” that labour and material costs are a lot higher and increasing, because of demand,” Johnstone says.

“There’s also a really interesting issue developing regarding reinforced steel strain hardening. The reinforcing inside columns and beams, particularly in multistorey commercial buildings, may have been compromised by the earthquakes. The concrete can be removed to expose the reinforcing so it can be checked, but whether it has been damaged is a matter of contention between insurers, policyholders and engineers.”

Source: Swiss Re

THE TRIGGER FACTOR “The issue right now is that a number of claims are getting stuck. We’ve got a whole lot of claims where EQC is saying, ‘This repair is valued at $75,000, so we’ll take care of it’; but somewhat bizarrely, the private insurers are saying, ‘Hold on – we think this repair is valued at much more and we should be involved here’.”

Ultimately, the insurers have a strong desire to get the claims off their books and the homeowners obviously want a resolution as well. But, until the EQC gets involved and revises its estimate, “nothing happens”, Horne says.

THE REBUILDING PROCESS Another ongoing issue impacting both commercial and residential insurance claims is the measure of reinstatement. Are insurers required to restore properties to the pre-earthquake accepted levels of the building code, or do they need to be constructed in such a way that they meet new council requirements, becoming better poised to withstand another earthquake?

And if it’s the latter, who pays for it?

“Building and home owners are wondering who is going to foot the bill, because the new design standard can add as much as 30% to the rebuild cost – and that’s not taking into account the fact 42 | APRIL 2014

One of the more multifaceted challenges tied to the earthquake recovery has been the startling complexity of each individual case.

There’s the case of one cafe owner, for instance, who was able to trade after the quakes because her rented premises escaped damage. However, her cafe was inside another larger building complex that was closed for almost six months under inspection of the city council.

She continued to pay her staff over that period, despite the lack of any income, anticipating that her insurance would pay for it under her ‘business interruption’ policy. It wasn’t that easy. The fact that the ‘parent’ building was closed for inspection didn’t trigger coverage under her material damage insurance. Her business interruption claim was denied.

It’s these types of claims that have Johnstone and his team toiling away at night and on weekends, in an effort to help clients make headway. He’s been working particularly with homeowners in the Port Hills area.

These homeowners’ dwellings have been classified under Section 124 (s124) of the Building Act as dangerous properties with prohibited access, primarily to ensure public safety. Their homes are actually safe and well, but the location

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3 EMERGING ISSUES IN NZ INSURANCE With the volume of earthquake claims stabilising, a number of other concerns are emerging in the insurance space. Bell Gully partner David Friar points to three further issues on the insurance law horizon:

1

Amendments to the Fair Trading Act Changes relating to standard-form consumer contracts, including insurance polices, were passed at the end of last year to try to address consumer concerns over unfair contract terms. For instance, contracts will effectively be required to be drafted in plain English so that they are clear and easy to understand. “The Act comes into force in early 2015, but really, insurers need to be consistent with the Act now,” Friar says. “There are a number of specific exceptions for insurers that have been built in, and those are entirely appropriate given that they would cut across relevant insurance law. But insurers are still going to be required to review their policies to ensure they comply with these new changes.”

2

Cyber-related crimes New Zealand is ranked fourth in the world for cyber-attacks. These crimes cost the business community an estimated $625m in 2011.* “I‘ve seen companies that traditionally haven’t focused so much on the electronic side of their business begin to realise that they have real risks in this area,” Friar says. ”It’s important for businesses to make sure their insurance is up to date to cover these sorts of risks. At the most basic level, this means reviewing the risk that they have and working with their broker and insurer to arrange an appropriate level of cover.”

3

Review of the Insurance Law Reform Act “There has been some indication from the government that they’re considering a review of the Insurance Law Reform Act,” Friar explains. “The Law Commission had done a review some time ago, but nothing has really come from that. We’re hearing that they may be considering going back and reviewing insurance law reform more generally.” * Source: Chartis Insurance

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FEATURE / INSURANCE

STEWING OVER THE STEIGARD DECISION

THE EARTHQUAKES

BY THE NUMBERS

714

Christchurch properties ‘zoned red’, meaning they face an immediate risk to life

7,000

Christchurch residents who have permanently fled the city

70,000 Residential house claims from Canterbury earthquakes

$17bn

Total claims, according to insurers Source: Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority; NZ Census; Insurance Council of New Zealand

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of their properties is deemed dangerous, due to potential rock fall or unstable land.

Up until now, insurers have sought to argue that, technically, the building is not lost so there is no coverage under the homeowner’s insurance policy.

But this could all be set to change.

“We’re waiting on a High Court decision on the 124 notice to rule whether that constitutes a complete loss or not,” Johnston explains.

“There’s no law in New Zealand on the point, so it’s very much about the interpretation of the Act and the insurance policy definition of what ‘loss’ means.

“For one of my clients, they absolutely feel that they have incurred a loss – they haven’t been able to live in their house since February 2011.”

While the High Court decision is still being processed, homeowners have been stuck in limbo.

Some have had to move on with their lives, buying another house and taking on a sizeable mortgage to do so.

“This means they’ve gone from being mortgage free to having a home loan, hoping it will be paid out,” he says.

“Many homeowners facing s124 notices are caught in that situation; it highlights that genuine people issues are involved. That’s the tough part.

“The reality is, when they drafted the Act they didn’t really think about all these possible scenarios.

Some 70,000 house claims in Christchurch from one event is not usual in terms of claims per year. It raises a lot of technical and difficult issues.”

Two days before Christmas last year, the Supreme Court ruled that failed financier Bridgecorp’s claim to insurance money under a $20m D&O policy had priority over the payment of defence costs to directors under that policy. By a majority of three to two, the Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeal’s earlier decision in the case.

Going forward, this means that third-party claimants have a charge with priority over all insurance moneys payable under insurance policies that carry a single indemnity for both third-party liability and defence costs.

David Friar, partner at Bell Gully, was heavily involved in the Steigard decision. Bell Gully acted for the receivers of Bridgecorp in the proceedings and successfully appeared in the Supreme Court on their behalf.

Friar says the high-profile case has been going through the courts for a number of years, so the final decision shouldn’t be a huge surprise.

“I was counsel to the successful parties in that case. It had a number of twists and turns along the way but people really need to be aware of the implications that arise because of that ruling.

There is a solution to this going forward, but it means that businesses need to respond to it in such a way so that they’re covered for both potential expenses,” he says.

“We’re been advising our clients since 2011 that they need to restructure their insurance to take into account separate coverage for thirdparty liability and for defence costs. Now that the Supreme Court has ruled, it’s imperative for people to structure liability and defence costs into their policies or, ideally, have two separate policies – one for third-party liability and one for defence costs.”

REGULATORY ACTIONS There’s another aspect of D&O cover that needs consideration, according to Andrew Horne, partner at Minter Ellison Rudd Watts. He’s tracking a noticeable increase in regulatory action against clients who are under investigation, and often they’re being monitored due to their association with other businesses in the firing line, rather than their own potential misdeeds.

This is creating something of a grey area when it comes to triggering their insurance coverage.

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“We’re seeing an increased number of notices from the Financial Markets Authority or the Stock Exchange on blue-chip companies. Regulators want to know what’s going on, and situations that wouldn’t have attracted their attention five years are starting to happen more frequently,” Horne explains.

“Regulators are doing a lot more precommencement work, which means they require businesses to produce all their documents – and of course all of that paperwork has to be reviewed for privilege.”

Complying with regulatory demands can be a very expensive process, and directors are looking to their D&O coverage for protection, but these scenarios aren’t always covered.

“I know of one case where well over $100,000 in legal fees was incurred by directors, who were simply brought in for questioning and no allegations had been made,” he adds.

“Some insurers are saying that if no allegations have been made, then there’s no cover under the

“Now that the Supreme Court has ruled, it’s imperative for people to structure liability and defence costs into their policies or, ideally, have two separate policies – one for third-party liability and one for defence costs” policy. People need to be quite cautious and investigate what coverage they actually have.

“I know that if I was a director, I would want to know that, if I had to attend interviews with the regulator and hand over sensitive documents, I could have legal representation. It can make all the difference between getting charged and not getting charged.” NZL

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EMPLOYMENT LAW

Moving

goalposts The confluence of an election, legislative overhauls and landmark case law developments means the employment law playing field is changing – fast. Ben Abbott finds employment lawyers up for the game Being an employment lawyer in an election year can be like watching a game of football – a game in which you are the ball that the two teams are kicking around.

“Employment law does tend to be something of a political football,” says Don Mackinnon, partner at boutique employment firm Swarbrick Beck Mackinnon.

“We expect to be seeing and reporting to our clients regularly this year about the differences in approaches between our two main parties,” he says.

It has been some time since employment law has played such a central role in a New Zealand election.

Following the introduction of the Employment Relations Act 2000, national governments had largely left the newly minted regime alone.

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But those legal practitioners who have been around long enough to weather a number of electoral cycles would remember an altogether different reality.

“Before the Employment Relations Act 2000 – during the 1990s and beyond – employment law was very much front and centre as a political issue, and if a new party got in, then the law got changed,” says Simpson Grierson partner John Rooney.

The new Employment Relations Amendment Bill, introduced to Parliament last year, has made what was old new again. With changes proposed to the collective bargaining regime being opposed by unions, employment has become a central issue. Labour has threatened to scrap all changes to the legislation should it win office.

“We are moving back to where a change of government might result in significant changes to legislation,” Rooney says. “We could be in a situation where a law is only in force for six months. The best thing you can do is to provide early information to clients. Even if a law is in force for six months, they still have to comply with it.”

THE HOT AREAS Employment lawyers have already noticed the beneficial effects of a long-awaited economic improvement on their practices, leading to a more non-contentious work.

“The economy is looking up, which is fantastic, because it means that our clients are looking to hire and retain their good staff,” says Minter Ellison Rudd Watts partner Jennifer Mills.

This often means a redrafting of policies, and increasing amounts of employee incentives-related work. “We are seeing a lot more performance-related remuneration structures from mid to high-level staff,” says DLA’s John Hannan.

There are a number of other areas that will be central to employment lawyers in 2014.

1

Restraint of trade

Partly as a result of an improving economy and partly because of the increasing importance to business of ongoing business relationships and intellectual property, the creation of restraint of trade-style agreements and their enforcement is becoming a critical element for employment law practices in recent times.

“We have seen a huge push over the last 18 months by employers enforcing their restraint of trade against departing individuals,” says Mills.

“We could be in a situation where a law is only in force for six months … [but clients] will still have to comply with it” Minter Ellison provided advice to Air New Zealand on the high-profile Grant Kerr case last year, where the airline sought to enforce a sixmonth restraint of trade or ‘gardening leave’ agreement preventing Kerr from starting a new job as manager of Jetstar. Buddle Findlay represented Kerr. Though Kerr won his case, it is viewed by lawyers as a sign of the willingness for employers to pursue their agreements.

2

Restructuring and redundancy

Simpson Grierson names continuing developments in restructuring and redundancy as an essential flavour of 2014.

“The fallout from the GFC has meant a considerable amount of restructuring, and the way in which the Employment Relations Authority and the Employment Court have approached looking at restructurings has become a hot topic,” Rooney says.

These bodies are now looking in greater detail at the genuineness of any restructuring and redundancy moves, and are making more active decisions in some cases that mean businesses now need to more thoroughly justify their rationale.

APRIL 2014 | 47

EMPLOYMENT LAW

FACING UP TO FACEBOOK, EMPLOYERS GET SOCIAL Any employee – of a law firm, or any other organisation – would probably remember a time not so long ago when they were blocked from social media at work.

Viewed as a scourge on employee productivity and bringing the threat of uncontrolled public communication, employers initially opted for outright denial and prohibition.

However, “those days are gone”, says Chen Palmer employment law principal Anthony Russell.

“There is a movement away

from blanket prohibition that tries to avoid social media intruding on the workplace,” Russell explains.

“There is a realisation that they [employers] can’t just prohibit social media, and they are putting workplace social media policies in place to manage those situations,” adds senior associate Claire English.

Previously, employers were enforcing blanket bans on some social media sites during work hours. However, this has become increasingly difficult with mobile technology, and the difference between work and non-work time is now blurred.

“The demarcation between what we call work hours and those that aren’t has increasingly become a grey area,” Russell says.

Simpson Grierson is advising Grace Team Accounting in a landmark dispute with a former employee, which has been given leave to be heard in the Court of Appeal following a closely watched Employment Court decision in favour of the employee. The case centres on the dismissal of an employee due to alleged business hardship, which the employee has successfully argued against.

Other elements of the case include an illness and whether the contract was a maternity leave position.

3

Health and safety

The Pike River tragedy near Greymouth on 19 November 2010 was a watershed event for health and safety law. The deaths of 29 miners and contractors galvanised political will for improvements to what is seen as substandard law.

The result – the Health and Safety Reform Bill, which will come into force to replace the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 in 2015 – includes key developments.

DLA Piper partner John Hannan says one major change is the way in which senior management and board members will now have due diligence duties to inform themselves of 48 | APRIL 2014

health and safety issues in the business and ensure they are addressed. Under the legislation, executives will shoulder a measure of personal responsibility and liability, and they can be prosecuted and even imprisoned in some cases.

“There are many changes in the health and safety legislation in terms of operation and style, and every business will have to have a response,” he says.

4

Public law and employment

The synergies between public law and employment may not be immediately apparent.

But to specialist firm in the area Chen Palmer, the two are clearly aligned.

Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, Chen Palmer has always practised employment law, but has seen the practice grow significantly due to the close interface between its public law specialty and employment law issues.

“What we find is that employment law issues in the public sector often have a more public law focus than just being a narrow employment law issue,” founding partner Mai Chen says. “There may be employment law issues tied up with policy, and what we are trying to do is adapt a more holistic view to solving these broader problems,” adds employment law principal Andrew Russell.

Principal Marina Matthews says the firm has experienced strong growth in particular areas, including advising on matters such as the amalgamation of state entities or public agencies with government departments, where the firm’s employment expertise combines with its public policy specialty. Likewise, the firm advises on the employment ramifications of public inquiries.

5

Cross-border advice and M&A

With promising signs for the economy, lawyers are awaiting M&A-driven work.

DLA Piper’s John Hannan, who was part of a team advising on the New Zealand employment aspects of Pfizer’s spin-off of its animal health unit in 2013, says there is increasingly a cross-border element to employment work in New Zealand.

“What we are finding is that for larger international organisatons, the human resources management is locating its regional centre of gravity offshore.”

With the advantage of an international footprint, DLA is providing advice on cross-border M&A transactions and multi-jurisdictional advice on things such as privacy law (with employee data

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being stored offshore) and staff relocations.

6

Gender equity

Firms are monitoring with interest developments in case law relating to gender.

A case last year in the aged-care sector saw the Service and Food Workers Union (SFWU) win a significant decision from the Employment Court in favour of a Lower Hutt caregiver, who argued that her hourly rate was a result of gender discrimination under the Equal Pay Act. The SFWU argued successfully that Bartlett’s hourly wage ($14.46) was less than would be paid to male employees with the same or substantially similar skills as an aged-care worker. The case, which went to the Court of Appeal in February, will be important for lawyers this year after the reserved judgment is delivered.

A BOUTIQUE SUCCESS STORY Employment law continues to stand apart, in that – unlike most other practice areas – boutique firms are readily acknowledged as being the equals of full-service firms.

“There are a number of boutique firms; it may be something, particularly in employment law, that is unique to New Zealand, but our competitors would not only be teams at other larger firms but also boutiques,” says Simpson Grierson’s Rooney.

In Auckland, the four-partner Swarbrick Beck Mackinnon sits alongside fellow boutiques Kiely Thompson Caisley and LangtonHudsonButcher Lawyers.

All of these firms boast ex-top-tier law firm partners, who have vacated the full-service model to launch competitive offerings in the employment law niche.

Though Auckland is well populated by these firms, Susan Hornsby-Geluk and Blair Scotland have also only recently struck out on their own in Wellington, where their firm Dundas Street is entering what some believe is a niche market for growth.

Chen Palmer likewise contributes an interesting nexus between public law and employment that is increasingly important to clients in both Wellington and Auckland.

While Swarbrick Beck Mackinnon’s Don Mackinnon acknowledges firm size is a “legitimate question” for any client, he says that, barring toptier firm Simpson Grierson, the bench-strength of the boutiques can match other contenders.

“If you look at the size of the main employment boutiques, they would match if not dwarf the practices of multiservice firms” “If you look at the size of the main employment boutiques, they would match if not dwarf the practices of multiservice firms,” Mackinnon says.

And boutiques are able to back words with credentials. For example, SBM was successful in winning the employment work of Coca-Cola Amatil last year.

Full-service law firms are right to argue that, as the economy improves, they will be the ones more likely to capture the upturn in this sector, due to M&A-driven work.

But perhaps boutiques have the answer to this as well. As Mackinnon explains, they are busy forming alliances with boutique M&A and IP firms themselves.

“As the economy starts to strengthen and there is more acquisition work, those relationships will become more important. Those M&A firms want to be able to say to clients that they can cover off all aspects of an acquisition,” he says.

A LAWYER’S JOB Employment law has not escaped the difficulties of hard economic times.

“If you look at the New Zealand legal market as a whole, it is not growing, and the employment area to some extent would be no different to that,” says Rooney.

“But I do think what we have seen is that it has become a more lawyered area; like other areas of society, people are more usually turning to their lawyers.”

While this is good news for law firms, Rooney says a law firm’s selling point for clients is now trying to keep client involvement with lawyers down. With mediation built into the bedrock now for disputes in this area, it is all about avoiding disputes.

“Many disputes are just costly and of course are a distraction from what clients want to be doing, which is getting on with their business. NZL

APRIL 2014 | 49

OUTSIDE THE OFFICE

NZ law’s most epic career break

Iran

Brannavan Gnanalingham’s travels have seen him wander the silk route and cross the Sahara, but the Kiwi lawyer says his life of high adventure is one any lawyer can have The dust-swept flats of what used to be Central Asia’s Aral Sea would seem a strange place for a Kiwi lawyer to be hitching a ride.

The dry, man-made desert, circled by armies of derelict Soviet-era buildings, is not known as a welcoming place. Few international visitors consider the trip and even fewer brave the harrowing roads to get there. Even the local Uzbek buses are known to give up. If they don’t reach their destination by a government curfew, passengers are given no choice but to disembark in the middle of nowhere.

For Wellington-based litigator Brannavan “Bran” Gnanalingham, the journey was just one of many in an amazing five-month trip across Asia’s historic silk route, a passage stretching from China to Europe.

“We’d hitched a ride with a couple of locals in a marshrutka, a kind of communal taxi. Surrounded by the grim Soviet architecture, we couldn’t have felt 50 | APRIL 2014

further away from New Zealand. We’d heard about what had happened to the [Aral] Sea, how it had dried up from damming and reckless irrigation, but nothing prepares you for it.”

Standing on the bed of what was once the world’s third-largest inland body of water, Bran says it was almost impossible not to be moved by a sense of passing ghosts. Most of the lake, still worthy of being called a ‘sea’ as recently as the 1980s, has vanished into scrubs, sand and a graveyard of rusted ships.

Bran, 30, says it is these kinds of adventures that inspire him. “I’ve always been an avid traveller. I had been working as a litigator for Buddle Findlay and decided midway through 2012 to request a sabbatical.

Luckily, they agreed. I’d encourage anyone thinking about it, lawyers who are curious about the world, to just go out there and see it.”

THE SILK ROUTE In a journey that saw Bran, his wife and two friends travel China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Iran, Turkey, Georgia and Armenia, Bran says it’s hard to choose a highlight. In a twist of irony, the craziest part of the trip is a lot easier to pick.

“We got robbed by an old lady,” Bran laughs.

“We were crossing the border from Kazakhstan into Uzbekistan and were changing money. The Uzbek currency is really devalued, so you get this

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wad of cash for as little as $20 and you don’t know what to do with it. Then this old lady came and tried to grab the money out of our hands. My friend held onto his money tight, but she bit him. She actually drew blood. The Kazakhstan police just laughed.”

With this fresh in their minds, Bran admits that it was hardly surprising when the border police’s Uzbek counterparts tried to shake them down for bribes.

“Some are subtle about it. They go through every piece of your luggage, hoping you’ll eventually get frustrated and pay them off. Others flat out ask for money. I think we told them ‘nice try’ and went on our way.”

A little more of an eye-opener was Iran – in a good way. Bran says many people may be surprised by how accommodating the country is, despite its reputation as a thorn in the side of international politics. “The people are very keen to shake off that stereotype. They are super, super friendly. It was an amazing experience.”

A KIWI IN PARIS Apart from travelling off the beaten track, Bran’s sabbatical also included an eight-month stint in Paris, where he wrote a novel and taught English.

“We lived a pretty clichéd Paris life,” Bran says, reflecting on him and his wife’s living in a small, inner-city flat in the middle of the city. For someone hungry for the adrenaline of remote, hard-to-get-to places, he admits that the city’s lights, architecture and old-world charm still struck a chord.

“I decided to write a book that was a bit of the opposite of my experience in Paris. It’s about a woman who moves to Paris hoping it will change her life in a sort of Eat, Pray, Love kind of way, but things don’t quite work out like that for her.”

The novel is Bran’s second published book, following his 2011 novel, Getting Under Sail, which was inspired by his exploits during another epic journey – an overland trip across northwestern Africa in 2007. The book was part fact, part fiction, but he says that one event definitely happened.

“I was in Mali and got arrested by mistake – for murder.”

Bran says the details of how this unfolded are complicated, but it was a classic case of mistaken identity. A few weeks before he and two friends had arrived in Mali, a French family had been tragically gunned down in Mauritania, the Saharan country directly west of Mali. The suspects in that incident were a trio of men, two lighter skinned and one

BRAN’S SILK ROAD JOURNEY KAZAKHSTAN GEORGIA TURKEY

UZBEKISTAN

ARMENIA CHINA

IRAN

darker skinned. Since Bran and his friends fit that profile and had items missing from their visas, they were held in the Malian capital, Bamako.

“We were held for six hours, but it sounds hairier than it was. The officers were actually amazing. They cooked us lunch, showed us Malian music videos, sorted out our visas and booked us a hostel.”

Aral Sea

GETTING THE TIME OFF Having returned to work at Buddle Finlay’s Wellington office midway through last year, Bran says it has been remarkably easy to readjust, despite the wild adventures he has had.

“People ask me if it’s been difficult, and to be honest, it feels more like I was on a holiday that was just a little longer than usual.”

His advice to lawyers considering taking some time off from work is to think carefully about why they want to embark on a leave of absence. Those who are heart-set on doing it shouldn’t instantly assume their firm will say no.

“It can be hard for a lawyer. Firms have closeknit teams and, if you’re gone, they obviously have to fill that space, but you don’t know if a break is possible until you ask.”

Bran says he got the time off by shooting straight from the hip. “Both my bosses had lived overseas and knew the appeal… there was no clever way of framing the leave of absence. I simply asked for it. I think my bosses generally appreciate straight-up requests, rather than ‘tricky’ kinds of things.”

Bran’s novel, You Should Have Come Here When You Were Not Here, is available from lawrencenandgibson.co.nz and select retailers such as Unity Books. NZL

Iran

Armenia

APRIL 2014 | 51

LAW TRENDS

Law trends

 NZ trumps Australia on rule of law

 Female lawyers snubbed for partnerships, says study Female lawyers in New Zealand are less likely to earn partnerships at major firms than their counterparts at similarly sized firms in Australia and the US, according to research by the Auckland Women Lawyers’ Association (AWLA).

The study, conducted by the Gender & Diversity Research Group at AUT University, and entitled Women’s Career Progression in Auckland Law Firms: Views From the Top, Views from Below, shows that women made up just 19% of partners at large firms in 2012.

AWLA president Angela Hansen says both men and women participated in the research and almost all the women surveyed (95%) agreed there was a trend for women to leave the firms or the profession. In contrast, 30% of the men questioned either queried or disagreed.

“Common themes emerged as to why women were leaving the large law firms,” writes Hansen. “These include burnout, a male-dominated environment, the structure of work and partnership, the masculine culture and women’s responsibilities for children, pressures around ‘winning’ work and a desire for a more balanced life.”

The research follows a similar report by the National Association of Women Lawyers in the US, which said just 17% of equity partners at large law firms in that country were women.

43.9%

44.8%

45.3%

39.0% 34.0% 27.0% 20.8%

1990

1995

2000

2005

2010

2012

Proportion of female partners in major firms

● Balance of female NZ lawyers

19.0%

2013 Source: NZ Law Society

52 | APRIL 2014

New Zealand’s legal system has come out ahead of Australia’s in a global ranking of legal jurisdictions that measures the rule of law as experienced by citizens.

New Zealand came sixth out of 99 countries ranked in the World Justice Project Rule of Law Index, putting it at the top of 15 countries THE GLOBAL RULE OF ranked as part of the ‘East LAW LEADERS Asia and the Pacific’ regional 1 Denmark grouping.

This ensured that it 2 Norway pipped Australia, which ranked second in the Asia3 Sweden Pacific region but only eighth overall against the 4 Finland 99 jurisdictions around the world.

5 The Netherlands The Rule of Law Index EAST ASIA AND THE attempts to measure the PACIFIC REGIONAL rule of law in jurisdictions RANKINGS around the globe by relying on over 100,000 household 1 New Zealand and 2,400 expert surveys 2 Australia that measure how the rule of law is experienced in 3 Japan the course of everyday life around the world.

 Salary figures reveal incentive to practise overseas A Robert Walters study shows the uphill battle New Zealand firms are facing, with high financial incentives for experienced lawyers to go overseas.

A private practice associate with four to eight years’ experience working in New York, for instance, enjoys an average salary of US$210,000–$280,000 (NZ$252,000– $337,000), according to the results of Robert Walters’ 2014 Salary Survey.

Recruitment firms say the UK remains the most popular destination for Kiwi lawyers looking to work overseas. The average London lawyer with four to eight years’ PQE earns between NZ$150,000 and NZ$288,000 a year.

The disparity between New Zealand salaries and those in many international destinations is not all bad news for local firms fearing a loss of talent. The higher salaries in other countries often also result in more competition for jobs, and many once-expat lawyers do return.

NZLAWYERMAGAZINE.CO.NZ

 Risks of setting up shop in Australia ‘inflated’ The time is nigh for New Zealand firms to establish themselves in Australia, but many continue to steer clear of the market for the wrong reasons.

This is according to Kim Lovegrove, a partner at Lovegrove, Smith & Cotton, an Australian construction and planning firm with an office in Auckland.

Lovegrove says it is not hard to see how Kiwi firms have been gifted a golden opportunity to enter Australia.

“The exchange parity [affords] New Zealand

 Top 10

law firms a rare window to invest in Australia, because historical trends suggest that the Australian dollar will recover against the Kiwi currency.”

Despite the obvious benefits of moving across the Tasman, Lovegrove argues that many New Zealand firms maintain an overinflated fear of losing referrals. “Some large firms have been reluctant to set up shop abroad for fear of losing referrals from Australian counterparts … this is not a compelling argument,” he says.

Ambitious law firms derive revenue from growth of their client base by way of practice acquisition and strong client retention, Lovegrove says. While he admits that referrals are important, he says they are rarely the lifeblood of larger, more established organisations.

“The law firms that have shown the most profound growth in Australia in the last decade have done so by way of practice merger, practice procurement, or the procurement of partners with transportable billings.”

Cost is also no longer a significant barrier, according to Lovegrove, who claims it’s no more expensive for an Auckland practice to set up in Melbourne than for a Perth or Brisbane practice to do so in the same location.

complaints against lawyers (2012–13) 1 Overcharging 2 Breach of RCCC rules 3 Negligence/ incompetence 4 Inadequate reporting/ communication 5 Failure to follow instructions 6 Unbecoming conduct 7 Delay 8 Misleading conduct 9 Conflict of interest 10 Discourtesy Source: NZ Law Society

● Associate lawyer salaries around the world (NZ$) DUBLIN

LONDON

$107k-$156k $150k-$288K PARIS

$180-$246

HONG KONG

$186k-$290k

NEW YORK

$252k-$337k

BRISBANE

$160k-$214k SYDNEY

$150k-$225k SAO PAULO

$46k-$77k

AUCKLAND

$90k-$150k WELLINGTON

$60k-$150k Source: Robert Walters’ 2014 Salary Survey. Figures represent salaries for associates with four to eight years’ post-qualification experience

APRIL 2014 | 53

LISTINGS

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buildings of all types. We have qualified experts, from design to evaluation, in various property fields.

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Telephone: 09 300 5480 Email: shane@hco.co.nz Website: http://www.hco.co.nz

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Staples Rodway Ltd Kevin Pitfield Specialist in valuations, loss quantification and damages area.

Telephone: 09 309 0463, 027 458 2553 Email: kevin.pitfield@staplesrodway.com Website: http://www.staplesrodway.com

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INSOLVENT & SOLVENT LIQUIDATIONS & BUSINESS RECOVERY Gerry Rea Partners Simon Dalton, Paul Sargison, John Leonard Specialists in Liquidations, Receiverships, Creditors Compromises, Business Valuations, Economic Loss Assessment, Forensic Accounting, Litigation Support.

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