UPFRONT
MARKET MOVEMENTS
Appointments PARTNER PROMOTIONS FIRM
LAWYERS PROMOTED
Anthony Harper
Alex Campbell
Duncan Cotterill
David Briscoe, Chris Linton
Meredith Connell
Leo Farmer
SENIOR ASSOCIATE APPOINTMENTS
NEW MANAGING PARTNER AND CEP DESIGNATE FOR TOP TIER FIRM Chapman Tripp has appointed Andy Nicholls as a new managing partner in the firm’s Wellington practice for a five-year term. He also joins the firm’s board. A leading regulatory lawyer, Nicholls has been a partner at Chapman Tripp for 11 years. He advises clients in New Zealand and the Pacific Islands on regulatory and competition law issues in the electricity, gas, telecommunications and airport sectors. Nicholls replaces Mark Reese, who was at the helm of the Wellington practice for a decade and has now returned to full-time legal practice as a partner in the firm’s banking and finance team. The firm’s primary managing partner, Andrew Poole, will continue in his Auckland-based role until June 2016. With Nicholls’ appointment, Poole’s title changes to chief executive partner. Meanwhile, the firm has announced that Nick Wells will be appointed as the new chief executive partner to succeed Poole in mid-2016. Wells has been a partner at Chapman Tripp for 12 years, specialising in corporate and private equity transactions and fund formation. He has led some of the most significant corporate acquisition and private equity transactions in New Zealand. Wells was the independent expert to the Parliamentary Select Committee on the Limited Partnership legislation. He is a leading expert on corporate structuring for Maori, private equity, businesses and charities. He heads the firm’s Maori Legal Group, Te Waka Ture, and previously served on the firm’s board. Wells will continue as a full-time practising partner until he takes up the role in mid-2016. As chief executive partner, he will continue to lead the firm’s iwi practice and selected key client relationships. 8
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FIRM
LAWYERS PROMOTED OR LATERALLY APPOINTED
Russell McVeagh
Emma Barnett, Rebecca Britton, Christopher Graf, Lance Jones, Ben Paterson, Dominic Rowe
Bell Gully
Ben McTaggart, Kate Wevers, Jennifer Gunser, Jennifer Coote
Anthony Harper Megan Compton Chapman Tripp
Colin Fife, Lauren Curtayne, Greer Fredricson, Jeremy Gray, Prue Tyler, Laura Fraser, Chris Green, Jill Gregory, Simon Akozu, Jai Nario, Lucy Hare, Shalindri Silva, Nick Letham
DLA Piper New Zealand
Tom Barnes, Aimee Credin, Pavanie Edirisuriya, Erin Vercoe, Megan Yardley
Baldwins
Ben Halberg MANAGING PARTNER DEPARTS FOR BANKING ROLE Minter Ellison Rudd Watts managing partner Mark Weenink has resigned to take up the role of general manager (regulatory affairs, compliance) and general counsel at Westpac NZ. Weenink first joined the firm in 2007, and despite the GFC, the firm has seen steady growth in partners and clients since then. Matters the firm has worked on under Weenink’s leadership include major roles around the Pike River Tragedy, all of the PPPs in NZ to date, working with CERA on the Canterbury rebuild and Z’s recent acquisition of Chevron NZ