NZ Lawyer issue 7.04

nzlawyermagazine.co.nz

Issue 7.4

WELLINGTON REPORT Firms discuss current opportunities in the nation’s capital SAFETY FIRST The impacts of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS M2 Group’s GC on being a good business lawyer

TONY RYALL Former National Party minister talks about new role at Simpson Grierson

MEET THE WINNERS

ISSUE 7.4

CONNECT WITH US Got a story, suggestion or just want to find out some more information? @NZ_Lawyer

CONTENTS

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UPFRONT 04 Legal insight

Preparing for a digital, divergent and differentiated future

06 News analysis

Devising strategies to increase diversity in law firms

08 Appointments 10 Deals round-up

24 COVER STORY

FROM CABINET TO COMMERCIAL LAW FIRM

FEATURES

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CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE

Firms talk to NZLawyer about growth opportunities in New Zealand’s capital

Former MP Tony Ryall talks about his new role as the head of Simpson Grierson’s public policy practice

FEATURES 50 Why monotasking is the new black Multitasking is not the way to go at work

54 Healthy body + healthy mind = healthy career

Managing wellness at work – your own and that of your staff

PEOPLE 14 Taking care of business

Ashe-lee Jegathesan of M2 Group discusses the crucial attributes of a business lawyer

46 Living the Hong Kong life

Minter Ellison associate Sam O’Malley discusses his experience in Asia

32 FEATURES

THE NEW ZEALAND LAW AWARDS

Recognising and congratulating the winners of these prestigious accolades for 2015

FEATURES

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SAFETY FIRST

The significance of forthcoming changes to New Zealand’s health and safety law

NZLAWYERMAGAZINE.CO.NZ CHECK IT OUT ONLINE www.nzlawyermagazine.co.nz

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UPFRONT

EDITORIAL

Communication is king

I

t is no secret that the legal profession is undergoing unprecedented change.

With globalisation, new technology and worldwide Hannah Norton changes around attitudes to important issues such as work-life balance and diversity in the workplace, there is disruption in the industry and there is nothing we can do about it – except embrace it.

Some of the developments are great – like the increased focus on work-life balance and diversity. With the industry having such a high incidence of mental health issues, depression and suicide, it would be nice to see those changes start to have an impact on the negative statistics – something I imagine we will see soon.

Some changes can be scary for firms – such as globalisation and new technology – but, if harnessed, can become a mighty weapon. Take a look at the global law firms rapidly spreading their tentacles across continents, with the strategy of shape up or ship out.

But there’s one thing that hasn’t changed – something that automation or artificial intelligence cannot replicate – and that’s relationships But there’s one thing that hasn’t changed – something that automation or artificial intelligence cannot replicate – and that’s relationships.

Good, old-fashioned face-to-face (or Skype-to-Skype) contact. Nothing beats it.

We can Facebook or email or WhatsApp to our heart’s content, but at the end of the day, there is no better way to communicate with someone than by chatting to them.

And communication is king when it comes to lawyer-client relations.

There’s no better way to discuss your clients’ objectives, and how to go about achieving them, than in a forum where you can see them, hear their tone, and clarify any misunderstandings there and then.

Instead of emailing your most valued clients this week, how about taking some time out to arrange to meet up for coffee?

On another note, over 500 members of the local legal profession recently attended the 11th annual New Zealand Law Awards, the event proudly supported by our partner Crowe Horwath. I sincerely congratulate all of our award winners for this year, and encourage you to read all of the results for yourself in this issue.

Hannah Norton, editor

www.nzlawyermagazine.co.nz DECEMBER 2O15 EDITORIAL Editor Hannah Norton Production Editors Roslyn Meredith

CONTRIBUTORS Samantha Woodhill Ben Abbott Tim Garratt Christopher Paterson

ART & PRODUCTION Design Manager Daniel Williams Designer Kat Vargas

SALES & MARKETING Sales Manager Paul Ferris Marketing and Communications Manager Lisa Narroway Traffic Coordinator Lou Gonzales

CORPORATE Chief Executive Officer Mike Shipley Chief Operating Officer George Walmsley Managing Director Justin Kennedy Chief Information Officer Colin Chan Human Resources Manager Julia Bookallil

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NZLawyer is part of an international family of B2B publications and websites for the legal industry NZLAWYER hannah.norton@keymedia.co.nz T +64 9 889 0124 samantha.woodhill@keymedia.com.au T +61 2 8437 4704

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Welcome Tom and David

John Powell, who heads Russell McVeagh’s National Finance Practice and David Hoare, Chair of the Corporate Advisory group, both welcome the promotion of Tom Hunt and David Raudkivi to the partnership.

Tom will continue to specialise in debt capital markets, corporate finance and financial services regulation. David will continue to focus on equity capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, private equity and other corporate transactions.

www.russellmcveagh.com AU C K L A N D V E RO C E N T R E 4 8 S H O R T L A N D S T R E E T P O B OX 8 AU C K L A N D N E W Z E A L A N D DX C X 1 0 0 8 5 T E L E P H O N E 6 4 9 3 67 8 0 0 0 FA X 6 4 9 3 67 8 1 63

W E L L I N G TO N 15 7 L A M B TO N Q UAY P O B OX 1 0 -2 1 4 W E L L I N G TO N N E W Z E A L A N D DX S X 1 1 1 8 9 P H O N E 6 4 4 4 9 9 9 555 FA X 6 4 4 4 9 9 9 55 6

UPFRONT

THE EVOLVING LANDSCAPE

A DIVERGENT FUTURE

A new Australasian study offers insights on how law firms are preparing for a digital, divergent and differentiated future THE GLOBAL legal industry is undergoing significant disruption and irreversible transformation, driven by a competitive market, customer demands, rapid advancement in technology, and changes to the way people work and live.

The ALPMA/LexisNexis Preparing Australasian Law Firms for A Digital, Divergent, Differentiated Future research looks at the strategies that firms in New Zealand

147

81%

number of law firms in the study

of respondents based in Australia

HOW PREPARED IS YOUR FIRM FOR A DIGITAL, DIVERGENT AND DIFFERENTIATED FUTURE?

2% Fully prepared

12%

Unprepared

54% Beginning to prepare

and Australia are adopting to respond to this changing legal landscape.

“Firms are facing real challenges in addressing internal factors such as operational efficiency and technological improvements,” said ALPMA president Andrew Barnes.

“Externally, the rapidly changing environment presents a challenge for law firms to differentiate themselves and win new business.”

19%

of respondents based in NZ

Well prepared

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Respondents were asked to rank the top five challenges they needed to address to prepare their firms for success in the future. The top five challenges for firms across Australasia included finding new customers/ winning new business, improving operational efficiency, ensuring firms were up to date with technology changes, differentiating from other firms, and growing firm profits.

88

said finding new customers and winning new business was biggest challenge

LAW FIRMS’ PRICING STRATEGIES Respondents were asked what their firms’ plans were for pricing of services in the next three years, and chose answers from a multichoice list. Forty-three per cent said they would continue with their current pricing model

43%

Continue with current model

45%

Offer more services on fixed-fee basis

23%

Offer more services on value price basis Offer more services on a capped-fee basis

29%

CHALLENGES FACING AUSTRALASIAN LAW FIRMS

Offer more services on a risk-sharing fee basis Offer more services on an hourly fee basis

12% 7% 5%

Rank

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

New Zealand challenges

Australian challenges

Differentiating from other firms

Finding new customers/winning new business

Ensuring firm keeps ahead of tech changes

Improving operational efficiency

Finding new customers/winning new business

Ensuring firm keeps ahead of tech changes

Attracting quality personnel

Differentiating from other firms

Growing firm profits

Attracting quality personnel

Commoditisation of legal services

Growing firm profits

Succession planning as partners retire

Commoditisation of legal services

Developing next generation of leaders

Meeting customer demand for better value

Improving operational efficiency

Retaining existing customers

Meeting customer demand for better value

Succession planning as partners retire

Retaining talent

Developing next generation of leaders

Internal cultural change

Having right info for decision-making

Retaining existing customers

Retaining talent

Having right info for decision-making

Internal cultural change

Workforce planning

Workforce planning

FIRMS’ PLANS AROUND CLIENTS AND TARGET MARKETS

54%

60 50

More than half of firms indicated they weren’t planning on changing their leadership structure in the next three years

44%

40 30

IS YOUR FIRM MOVING TO A CORPORATE-STYLE LEADERSHIP TEAM?

25%

32%

13% Yes

60% No

20 10 0

1% Continue to Increase the Expand beyond address the same number of target current geographic target market/s markets addressed footprint

Keep the same geographic footprint

Reduce geographic footprint

27% Already exists

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UPFRONT

NEWS ANALYSIS

FROM DINOSAURS TO TRAILBLAZERS Some of New Zealand’s law firms are leading the way in an area in which law has generally lagged behind – diversity. Firm members divulge some tips to Hannah Norton on developing a diversity strategy IT’S NO secret that law firms worldwide are generally dinosaurs when it comes to diversity.

While that may appear to be a sweeping statement, the facts speak for themselves.

In the UK, three out of four legal trainees in top city firms graduated from elite schools. And a recent report from the New York City Bar Association found that diversity continued to lag at New York law firms in 2014.

A survey of New Zealand’s legal sector conducted by Australian Legal Practice Management Association and McLeod Duminy earlier this year – the New Zealand Legal Industry Salary and HR Issues Survey – found that a whopping 70% of the 62 respondent firms from across the country did not have a diversity and inclusion program at all.

Yet New Zealand, and Auckland in particular, has been labelled as ‘super diverse’: home to people of many different national origins. Our businesses, and our clients, are all diverse. So, what are our law firms doing to follow suit?

Somewhat surprisingly, and unlike in New York, it is our top-tier firms that are paving the way forward. This is reflected in the recognition gained by Bell Gully, Chapman Tripp and Simpson Grierson at the 2015 White Camellia Awards held in Auckland in September.

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Simpson Grierson also won the Positive Inclusion Award at the Diversity Awards NZ 2015, while Russell McVeagh – which has recently implemented a diversity strategy – was a finalist in the Empowerment Award category.

But what does diversity actually mean in the context of a law firm?

“Specifically, it means hiring a broader range of people from every community, not just the kids who have gone to private schools,” Simpson Grierson human resources director Jo Copeland tells NZLawyer.

“And it means adopting more flexible partnership models which encourage our fabulous women to actively strive for partnership instead of settling for senior associateship.”

It’s also about having a broad range of people available to do clients’ work in a culturally appropriate way, Copeland says.

“I think it is really important for NZ law firms to understand tikanga as well.”

Buddle Findlay partner Laura O’Gorman echoes her sentiments.

“In a law firm, diversity is employing and working with talented people from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences, and ensuring that everyone is treated with fairness and respect,” she says.

“By providing a positive working environ­ ment where individuality is valued, both the firm and the individuals benefit.

“Synergies are achieved in collaborative environments, and each person can expect

to fulfil his or her own potential.”

Given such obvious benefits, it can be easy to assume that collaborative and inclusive environments happen naturally – but they don’t, O’Gorman says.

“Most law firms now recognise that to achieve in an environment such as this, more proactive steps need to be taken, and these include steps to negate unconscious bias.”

Diverse clients, diverse firms Having a diversity strategy is becoming increasing­ly important as clients these days really care about diversity, Copeland says.

“So many general counsel are women and they want to support and work with other women. We’re having fantastic conversations with GCs who are asking quite probing questions on diversity as part of tenders these days.

“Some have even talked about a ‘no women, no work’ policy, which will really help drive the importance home for many firms. It gives me great hope for the future of the profession.”

O’Gorman agrees. “These days, promoting diversity and inclusion is an expected commitment in any successful law firm,” she says.

The primary drivers for improving diversity and inclusion are the promotion of fairness and good values as an organisation, O’Gorman says. “However, we also recognise that improving diversity and inclusion will improve our success as a business over time.”

She notes that a number of studies have shown that diverse and inclusive businesses are more successful.

“Among other things, such firms are more appealing workplaces for attracting and retaining top talent, and broad perspectives lead to better decision-making.”

Developing a strategy Copeland describes Simpson Grierson’s diversity strategy in one word: “Inclusive.”

“We are very clear that we want diversity to mean so much more than gender, hence our focus on the LGBTI community as well, to mention just one.”

The firm started taking a good look at diversity back in 2012 “when a few of our great

female partners left to take on other roles in the judiciary, on boards etc”.

“Simpson Grierson was always one of the leaders for the numbers of female partners, but when we lost a few at once, it was a real wake-up call for the firm. The partners were proud of our history and wanted that to continue.”

So the firm conducted a diversity and inclusion survey. “[It] was our first step which gave us the benchmark data we needed to measure future progress.”

The firm established a diversity committee in 2012 with the purpose of providing recommendations to the board and helping to drive the diversity agenda.

“We have a three-year diversity plan which we are 18 months into executing, and our goal

Nation’s Women’s Empowerment Principles, and we have a Diversity Committee, which is responsible for the ongoing development of Buddle Findlay’s approach to diversity and inclusion.”

Each year, the Diversity Committee will pursue various projects and initiatives, O’Gorman says.

“For example, this year we have held unconscious bias training sessions for partners and staff, and a number of our senior people have attended external training relevant to diversity and inclusion issues, such as leadership summits and ‘Women, the Law and the Corner Office’.”

The firm hosted the book launch of Natalya King’s Raising the Bar: Women in Law and Business and has provided sponsorship for a number of events, including ‘Women in

“Specifically, [diversity] means hiring a broader range of people from every community, not just the kids who have gone to private schools” Jo Copeland, SIMPSON GRIERSON is to lead the profession for diversity. Awards like the EEO one reinforce that we are on the right track,” Copeland says.

The firm has an active Diversity and Inclusion Focus Group comprised of a board member, five partners and Copeland.

“It is a great bunch of committed men and women who are open to new ideas and are champions for change. And the board are equally as willing to implement good ideas, so we have a lot of support,” she says.

“We have a mentoring program for senior women, run workshops on everything from sexual identity training to resilience, to ‘career secrets your mother never told you’, to tikanga and Maori pronunciation, to name just a few.

And setting up our ‘Pride Network’ to support our LGBTI people has been one of the best, most fulfilling things we’ve done.”

Buddle Findlay also has a diversity and inclusion policy, O’Gorman says.

“Our firm is a signatory to the United

Geothermal’ at the World Geothermal Congress 2015 in Melbourne, and a LAWSOC Canterbury Women in Law Pink Ribbon Breakfast.

“We are currently working on a formal ‘flexible working policy’. Whilst we already have a large number of flexible working arrangements in place, it was thought that formalising this process would create more rigour and consistency and would more likely lead to better decision-making that would help to enhance our diversity.”

Buddle Findlay’s strategy is to achieve a diverse and inclusive work environment in which everyone is treated with fairness and respect, O’Gorman says.

“The aim is to facilitate each person’s success, and the success of the firm as a whole. This means continuing to improve the way we conduct our business, and a better understanding and appreciation of each other’s unique perspectives, abilities and circumstances.”

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UPFRONT

MARKET MOVEMENTS

APPOINTMENTS SENIOR ASSOCIATE APPOINTMENTS FIRM

LAWYERS PROMOTED OR LATERALLY APPOINTED

DLA Piper Anna Garland, Melissa Johnston Minter Daniel Collins, Kate Jenkison, Marie Kissick, Travis Ellison Rudd Tomlinson, Mary Lane Watts

OTHER NAME

FIRM/COMPANY

TITLE

Kate Ashcroft Copeland Ashcroft Law Partner Terry Johnson Simpson Grierson

Director, Health & Safety Advisory Services

MINTER ELLISON RUDD WATTS APPOINTS FIVE SENIOR ASSOCIATES Minter Ellison Rudd Watts has appointed five new senior associates who will strengthen the firm’s Banking and

SIMPSON GRIERSON LAUNCHES NEW CONSULTANCY Terry Johnson is now heading up Simpson Grierson’s newly launched health and safety consultancy.

This is Johnson’s first role at a law firm, after working in health and safety and human resources for over 20 years. As part of his new role, he will help clients develop and implement health and safety strategies, including training, reporting and audit processes.

“We plan to take the extensive practical experience I have and combine it with the excellent legal services available at Simpson Grierson, to create a leading health and safety advisory business in New Zealand,” Johnson said.

“While Simpson Grierson has been providing legal support in the area of health and safety for some time, many of our clients have begun to ask for greater support as a result of the new Health and Safety at Work Act, which will become law on 4 April 2016.”

Johnson took up the role at Simpson Grierson on 19 October.

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Finance, Construction and Corporate teams.

“We’re seeing increased activity across all of our core practice areas and we’re recruiting quality new team members to support our partners and their clients’ business needs,” said chair Cathy Quinn.

“We welcome this new wave of senior talent into our firm and are excited about the drive and experience they will contribute.”

Finance lawyers Daniel Collins, Marie Kissick and Kate Jenkison have all been appointed senior associates in the Auckland office’s Banking and Financial services team.

Travis Tomlinson has been appointed senior associate in the firm’s Construction team and Mary Lane in the Corporate and Commercial – IP/IT team, both in the Auckland office.

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UPFRONT

TRANSACTIONS

DEALS ROUND-UP Transaction

Value (A$)

Purchase of the medical Approx. insurance division of $24.67m New Zealand life insurer OnePath Life (NZ) Limited

Proposed merger of M2 Group with Vocus Communications Chapman Tripp has advised M2 Group on the regulatory aspects of its proposed merger with Vocus Communications.

The $3bn merger will create the third-largest telco in New Zealand.

M2 Group is a supplier of telecommunications services to customers through its Dodo, iPrimus, Commander and Engin brands, and is primarily retail focused. Established in 1999, trans-Tasman M2 has become one the largest network independent resellers of telephone, mobile and data telecommunications services.

The merger, unopposed by the ACCC, had been unanimously recommended by both boards and is now subject to shareholder approval.

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Lead lawyer(s)

Additional firms involved

nib nz limited

Michael Pollard/ Lydia Cook (nib)

Chapman Tripp

Adviser

Client

Simpson Grierson

Acted for SFS Holdings Limited in relation to the management buyout of Fabric Shelter Group

Confidential Wynn Williams

SFS Holdings Limited

Ash Hill, Nick Kovacevich

Dominion Legal

Sale of 171 Featherston Street, Wellington

$76m

Precinct Properties Holdings Limited

Charlotte Von Dadelszen, Ed McGimpsey

Beca & Co

The restructure of New Zealand media assets by US-based private investment company Dog Lonely and its acquisition of a stake in the restructured group

Confidential Wynn Williams

Dog Lonely LLC

Ash Hill, Nick Kovacevich

Meredith Connell

Investment in Silver Fern Farms

by Shanghai Maling Aquarius Co Ltd

$268m

Harmos Horton Lusk Limited

Silver Fern Farms Limited Greg Horton, Andrew Harmos, Tim Mitchelson, Kelvin Preston

Simpson Grierson

Tompkins Wake

Apex Valves

Tom Arieli

Bell Gully

Sale of 80% of the shares in Apex US$22m Valves Limited to Watts Water Technologies

Buddle Findlay

Advising M2 Group on the NZ regulatory aspects of its merger with Vocus Communications

Confidential Chapman Tripp

M2 Group

Tim Tubman and Rachel Dunne

Bell Gully

Sale of Vector Gas to infrastructure funds managed by Colonial First State Global Asset Management

$952.5m

Chapman Tripp

Vector

Roger Wallis and Josh Blackmore

Belly Gully

FlexiGroup’s acquisition of Fisher & Paykel Finance

$315m

Mayne Wetherell

FlexiGroup Limited

Michael Harrod, Bell Gully Michael Pritchard, Cameron Reeves

The equity crowdfunding capital raise of Invivo Wines New Zealand Limited, the crowdfunding raise to reach the $2m cap

$2m

Wynn Williams

Invivo Wines New Zealand Limited

Hayley Buckley

MAKE SURE YOUR FIRM’S WORK IS RECOGNISED To ensure your firm and its lawyers get the recognition they deserve for their fantastic work, send all your deal details to samantha.woodhill@keymedia.com.au

Transaction

Value (A$)

Adviser

Client

Lead lawyer(s)

Additional firms involved

Acquisition of Bunbartha Fruit Packers by Seeka Kiwi Fruit Industries Limited

$24.8m

Harmos Horton Lusk Limited

Seeka Kiwifruit Industries Limited

Greg Horton, Kelvin Preston

Minter Ellison

Purchase of business and properties from Safestore Container Storage Park Limited

$23m

Harmos Horton Lusk Limited

National Storage Limited

Nathanael Starrenburg, Annie Steel, Georgina Toomey

Saunders & Co

Skydive the Beach Group’s acquisition of Skydive Queenstown

$17m

Tompkins Wake

Skydive Beach Group

Tom Arieli

AWS Legal

Academic Colleges Group and its major shareholders on its sale to Pacific Equity Partners

Confidential Chapman Tripp

Academic Colleges Group

John Strowger

Russell McVeagh

Refinancing of Ross Group Enterprises Limited (parent company of Tegel Foods Limited)

$290m

Syndicate comprising ANZ Bank New Zealand Limited, Bank of New Zealand, and Westpac New Zealand Limited as financiers

Will Tipping, Cameron Peachey, Yu Sian Tan

Minter Ellison (Australia and New Zealand)

Summerset Holdings’ acquisition of Parson’s Paddock

Confidential Buddle Findlay

Summerset

Charlotte von Dadelszen, Ed McGimpsey

Chapman Tripp

Transpower facilities restructure

$500m

Mayne Wetherell

Transpower New Zealand Limited

Mei Nah and Jonathan Riley

Russell McVeagh

Financing of Archer Capital’s acquisition of Aspire2 Group Limited and five New Zealandbased private education businesses

$200m

Mayne Wetherell

ASB Bank Limited/ Commonwealth Bank of Australia

Will Tipping, Cameron Peachey

Simpson Grierson, Minter Ellison Rudd Watts

Establishment of The Warehouse $225m Group Financial Services (TWGFS) securitisation program

Mayne Wetherell

The Warehouse Group Financial Services

Mei Nah, Cameron Peachey

Chapman Tripp, Bell Gully

Sale of shares in CodeBlue Limited

Simpson Grierson

Shareholders of CodeBlue Limited (Tuscan Endeavours Limited, Chris Ritchie, Chris Mackay and Simone Ford, and Ian Funnell)

Peter Hinton and Anastasiya Gutorova

SBA Law

Up to $15m

Mayne Wetherell

Skydive the Beach Group’s $17m acquisition of Skydive Queenstown Tompkins Wake has advised ASX-listed Skydive Beach Group on its successful $17m bid for Skydive Queenstown, New Zealand’s leading tandem skydiving business.

“We are very pleased with the support we have received from our existing institutional shareholders and would like to welcome Perpetual as a new substantial shareholder,” said Skydive The Beach Group chairman Bill Beerworth.

Skydive The Beach Group is an Australia-based company operating skydiving experiences in four states.

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UPFRONT

TRANSACTIONS Transaction

Coretex acquisition of Air-Trak Flacks & Wong Limited has acted for newly merged fleet management technology company Coretex in the acquisition of Air-Trak, a fleet-tracking services company based in the US. The small but strategic acquisition is expected to help both companies grow.

“Air-Trak will benefit from the scale and resources in Coretex, allowing the business to better serve its existing customers and grow faster in its home market of North America,” said Coretex chief executive Selwyn Pellett.

“We will further accelerate growth by bringing the Air-Trak solution to the Australian and New Zealand markets – in fact we have already started to do this.”

The deal follows a $6m investment in Coretex by Milford Active Growth Fund.

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Value (A$)

Lead lawyer(s)

Additional firms involved

Itoham

David Tomson, Andy Martin

Crengle Shreves & Rantner Duncan Cotterill, Chapman Tripp

Adviser

Client

Buddle Findlay

Itoham’s increased stake in ANZCO Foods

$40m

Cedenco’s acquisition of aquaculture and mussel farming assets from Sealord, including a 50% stake in North Island Mussels Limited

Confidential Wynn Williams

Cedenco Aquaculture

Ash Hill, Nick Lodder, Nick Kovacevich

Private placement of new shares by NZX-Main Board listed Pushpay Holdings Limited

$18.8m

Pushpay Holdings Limited

Nathanael Starrenburg, Wook Jin Lee

Merger of Imarda and International Telematics to form Coretex

Confidential Flacks & Imarda Wong Limited

Daniel Wong

Harmos Horton Lusk Limited (acted for International Telematics)

Subscription by Milford of equity into Coretex

$10m

Flacks & Coretex Wong Limited

Daniel Wong

Cooney Lees Morgan (acted for Milford)

Cardinal Health’s acquisition of Cordis

US$1.94bn

Buddle Findlay

Cardinal Health

David Thomson, Andy Martin

Financing of Archer Capital’s acquisition of Aspire2 Group Limited and five New Zealandbased private education businesses

$200m

Mayne Wetherell

ASB Bank Limited/ Commonwealth Bank of Australia

Will Tipping, Cameron Peachey

Simpson Grierson, Minter Ellison Rudd Watts

Coretex acquisition of Air-Trak

Confidential Flacks & Coretex Wong Limited

Daniel Wong

Mintz Levin (US counsel for Coretex)

Subscription by Milford of equity into Coretex

$10m

Daniel Wong

Cooney Lees Morgan

Trade Me partner agreement with TOWER Insurance on the launch of Trade Me Insurance

Confidential Chapman Tripp

Trade Me

Bradley Kidd

DLA Piper

Manuka Health New Zealand and Confidential Chapman its major shareholders on its sale Tripp to Pacific Equity Partners

Manuka Health New Zealand

John Strowger

Russell McVeagh

Auckland International Airport Limited retail fixed rate bond issuance and wholesale floating rate note issuance

$175m

Auckland International Airport Limited

Mei Nah, James Broom, Jonathan Riley

Sale of the business and assets of Toops Palmerston North (rebranded Gilmours Central)

by Toops Wholesale Limited (a subsidiary of Foodstuffs North Island Limited) to an owner-operator, Central N.I. Food Wholesale Limited.

Confidential DLA Piper Foodstuffs North Island New Zealand Limited

Harmos Horton Lusk Limited

Flacks & Coretex Wong Limited

Mayne Wetherell

Martin Wiseman

North Harbour Law

PEOPLE

ASHE-LEE JEGATHESAN

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS M2 Group general counsel and company secretary Ashe-lee Jegathesan tells Hannah Norton that being a good business lawyer means not only being a good legal practitioner but also getting close to the business

‘A LAWYER and a business person walked into a bar…’

Once upon a time, that might have conjured up a mental image of two separate people.

These days, it’s more than conceivable – and increasingly common – for these two entities to be one and the same.

Sound business acumen and financial literacy are becoming core competencies for lawyers globally, and are essential for lawyers working in-house.

Ashe-lee Jegathesan, general counsel and company secretary at M2 Group Ltd, views these skills as imperative for her legal team.

And with over two decades of legal experience both in firms and in-house, as well as a stack of accolades, she is well positioned to comment.

“I see the legal team as a commercial partner to the business, and so I encourage all of our team, regardless of their function, to get close to the business,” Jegathesan tells NZLawyer.

“We are business lawyers. This is different to being a lawyer who works in-house versus working in a law firm.

“We are not here to simply dispense legal advice but to help the business achieve its strategic plan whilst complying with its

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legal and regulatory obligations.”

This is no mean feat. M2 Group Ltd is an ASX-listed company that has grown to become the largest network independent reseller of telephone, mobile and data telecommunications services in New Zealand and Australia. “[It] involves focusing on ensuring that what we do either adds or preserves value for the business; being pragmatic and creative; and coming up with ways to help the business to achieve what it wants to achieve, within the regulatory framework we operate in,” Jegathesan says.

As a provider of both telecommunications and energy services, M2 operates in a highly regulated environment, and the team is often in the position of having to explain these constraints to the operational teams.

“Being a great lawyer is not enough when you are a business lawyer; we have to also be strong influencers and leaders, and have to demonstrate a high level of commerciality in our engagement with the business.”

In-house operations Jegathesan is a member of the group’s senior executive team and has executive responsibility for all legal, regulatory,

“Being a great lawyer is not enough when you are a business lawyer; we have to also be strong influencers and leaders, and have to demonstrate a high level of commerciality in our engagement with the business”

compliance, risk management and company secretarial functions.

“There is really no such thing as a typical day, which is one of the things I love most about my role,” she says.

“Typically, it would involve time with various executive team members on strategic initiatives for the company, working on legal matters which I am handling myself. As we have a lean team, in addition to my executive responsibilities, I still handle some matters – company secretarial/governance work, risk management, coaching the team [and] liaising with external counsel.”

The legal team consists of four lawyers, four compliance professionals, a paralegal and a risk manager.

Of the lawyers, three are senior, with between seven and 15 years’ PQE, and one is a junior lawyer with three years’ PQE. The risk manager and compliance professionals are all at a senior level, and the paralegal is a final-year law student.

All operate close to – and understand – the business, Jegathesan says.

“The majority of the team are senior and experienced professionals who demonstrate these qualities well and have developed a good understanding of the business.

“Each lawyer has accountability for supporting a particular area of our business as well as a specialist regulatory field.

“That doesn’t mean, however, that that particular lawyer has to do all of the work relating to that area of the business or regulatory field – instead we share the load, depending on what else each of us has on at the time.”

Each week starts with a team meeting, where staff come together and discuss workloads, key matters and events – and, where appropriate, rebalance workloads among the team.

In terms of training and professional development, team members are encouraged to undertake technical legal and compliance training, as well as general leadership and business training, Jegathesan says.

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ASHE-LEE JEGATHESAN “Our legal team have all undertaken programs such as accounting for nonaccountants, so that they develop a good level of financial literacy and are able to appreciate the commercial aspects of their work.

“Our lawyers also deliver training to the business on areas which impact the business, particularly when new regulations are introduced.”

legal team engages external firms in a number of different areas.

“Most commonly, we engage external counsel to provide advice in specialist technical areas where we do not have the expertise or experience in-house to provide advice – for example, tax or stamp duty law,” Jegathesan says.

“We also use external counsel to provide

“Clients look for a firm who want to, and can be, an extension of their team” – Advice for external law firms The company also strongly encourages flexible working arrangements, with full-time and part-time staff members in senior roles, as well as the philosophy that ‘Work is a thing you do, not a place that you go’.

“All members of the team are very clear on what their role is and what the expectations are of that role, what they are accountable and responsible to both the company and their colleagues for,” Jegathesan says.

“Timelines for deliverables are clearly set.

It is then up to the individual to manage the delivery of those outcomes.”

Technology has been a key instrument in achieving this.

“Technology has given us the ability to both integrate and balance both our work and personal lives – and all team members are encouraged to do so.

“Team members are encouraged to also volunteer their time to a cause of their choosing, and our company policies contribute to this by allowing some paid volunteering time.”

Challenges currently facing in-house teams include expectations from the business that they do “more with less” in terms of cost controls, Jegathesan says. Teams are also faced with increasing – in both volume and complexity – regulatory requirements on both the local and global front.

Another challenge is retaining legal talent, especially senior lawyers.

Dealing with externals As with most in-house teams, M2 Group’s

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us with specialist transaction advice on strategic M&A work.”

The company engages with external firms where it would be more cost-effective to do so, she says.

“Particularly where the work is not core to our business, and in this instance, we work predominantly with alternative providers.”

As an example, Jegathesan says last year M2 Group rolled out its retail kiosk strategy, which saw it entering into approximately 45 shopping centre kiosk leases over a period of three months.

“Typically, though, any work relating to our core business or activities is handled in-house by our team.”

Advice for external firms The key things Jegathesan looks for in external legal advisers include: “a firm which is interested in building a long-term relationship with our company, rather than a short-term transaction focus; innovative lawyers who will think outside the square and help us navigate through any challenges we might have, [and] lawyers who regularly think about our business and lean forward to support us through both legal and nonlegal work”.

M2 Group’s legal team is looking for practical solutions-focused advice that is “ready for consumption” by management and doesn’t require the team to have to re-interpret it, she says.

She has a number of snippets of advice for

CAREER TIMELINE

May 2014– present

Aug 2008– Dec 2013

General counsel and company secretary, M2 Group Ltd

General counsel and company secretary, Melbourne IT Ltd

Dec 2001– July 2008 Executive director & general counsel, 3D Networks and Planet One Group of Companies

Nov 1999– Sept 2001 Legal counsel– Enterprise Solutions, Asia, Nortel Networks

Jan 1997– Feb 1999

Feb 1999– Oct 1999 Corporate counsel, BHP Steel

Solicitor, Freehills

Mar 1992 –Dec 1996 Solicitor and director, Asia Business Services, Maddocks

such firms. To start with, she recommends that they take a long-term view of their relationship with a client.

“Clients look for a firm who want to, and can be, an extension of their team.

Demonstrate this by keeping your client informed of developments in their area, even when you’re not advising them on that particular matter at the time.”

Firms should also provide legal advice that is user-friendly, practical and commercial, she says.

“Don’t make your legal client have to translate your advice before they can pass it on to the business.”

She also suggests developing a fee structure that is relevant to the type of work or transaction and the value placed by the client on that type of work.

Creating value for the business There are many aspects of Jegathesan’s role that she enjoys, so it’s hard to pick one favourite.

“The main aspects, I think, would have to be the opportunity to add value to an organisation and help the organisation achieve its strategic objectives, [and] engaging with the board and executive team at a strategic level as well as at an operational and transactional level.

“The breadth of this engagement is extremely interesting.”

The variety of work that crosses her desk is another enjoyable aspect, as well as working “with a group of highly engaged, committed and dedicated professionals in an entrepreneurial culture that is challenging, interesting, vibrant, and exciting.

“[There is] never a dull moment here, and change is constant.”

The role also provides her with the opportunity to be innovative and to continuously explore new ways for the company to deliver its objectives, “and therefore free us up to add more value to the organisation”.

Jegathesan believes that her roles of company secretary and general counsel are complementary.

“Acting as company secretary enables me to work closely with the board of directors, and this also provides me with an opportunity to participate in board discussions and to provide advice as general counsel to the board directly.

“Governance as a responsibility belongs to both roles, and frankly it is difficult for me to separate the work that I do in some instances between the two roles.”

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WELLINGTON REPORT

CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE New Zealand’s highly competitive capital demands the best of law firms, and as Ben Abbott finds, excellence in Wellington means being something greater than just local

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MEREDITH CONNELL’S Wellington managing partner, Kane Patena, only opened the doors of the firm’s new office in New Zealand’s capital and public sector nerve centre in July last year.

However, looking back on the move just 16 months later, Patena has every reason to be optimistic about both the firm’s future in the market and the prospects for Wellington.

“We have seen phenomenal growth in the last year since we launched – a threefold increase in the size of our Wellington practice,” Patena told NZLawyer in early November.

Thanks to a meaningful presence that goes well beyond ‘satellite’ status, the firm’s relationships with public sector clients built over 93 years are bearing further fruit.

Meredith Connell is not alone. Patena’s optimism is shared by more well-established Wellington practices, thanks to the full spectrum of legal work now available.

“I think the mood is very positive,” Buddle Findlay’s Wellington chair, Paul Beverley, says.

“There is optimism here – Wellington has a strong central government presence, and that is a very important influencer in terms of the legal market more generally. “ Two new partners have been appointed to Beverley’s Wellington practice in recent

times, due to demand for capacity. David Allan and David Randal practise in resource management and local government law.

“There is lots going on, because the government is doing significant work, and there is also a lot of activity in the local government and private sectors as well, so it’s positive,” Beverley says.

A public affair Chapman Tripp has the largest practice in Wellington. With a total of 16 partners and 58 other legal staff, the firm is in a prime position to take the pulse of Wellington’s legal market.

It is telling, then, that Wellington managing partner Andy Nicholls is also extremely positive, citing Wellington City Council’s “ambitious growth plan” as central to the city’s future prospects.

“There is a real sense of momentum. The Wellington City Council is getting organised with its 10-year growth plan, and add to that the Wellington business community supporting those aspirations for growth and the sense of momentum and engagement in the business community and local government in Wellington at the moment is really encouraging.”

Chapman Tripp has been appointed this

year to Wellington City Council’s legal panel, and Nicholls says he expects this to yield ongoing major project-related and general contracts work. With Wellington City Council’s 10-year plan including infrastructure upgrades such as a conference centre, an international film museum, and support for an airport

to focus on developing our relationship with the government and private sectors more broadly,” Buddle Findlay’s Beverley says. “We are seeing a lot of growth at the moment in the local government sector, and one of our key objectives is to maintain that momentum.

For Bell Gully, public sector infrastructure –

“One of the challenges that law firms face is that things change over time.

We are focusing on new opportunities rather than just those that we have already got in existence” Kane Patena, MEREDITH CONNELL runway extension, Nicholls says the largescale infrastructure renewal will benefit the market’s law firms.

Public sector clients have always been paramount to success in Wellington, as the seat of government, and for many the reason for being there. Firms say this focus will continue.

“We have a significant public sector practice that remains strong, and we are continuing

and particularly PPPs – is an area the firm will continue to target, and that has ongoing direct relevance to the Wellington market.

“As the only firm that has advised the government on PPPs, we have a wealth of knowledge in the area, and the model can, and is, being rolled out to a number of projects nationwide,” Bell Gully chairman Chris Gordon says. “Beyond central government

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FEATURES

WELLINGTON REPORT REVITALISING WELLINGTON Wellington City Council’s 10-year plan has earmarked a total operational expenditure of $5.1bn over 10 years for revitalising activities, from the environment to social and recreational. By investing in the future, it hopes to unlock Wellington’s economic and cultural potential, making it an attractive place for people – including lawyers – to live and work.

Council

Governance

$231m

$182m

Transport

Environment

$732m

$1,829m

Urban development

Total operational expenditure (10-year total)

Economic development

$301m Social and recreation

Cultural wellbeing

$1,203m

$207m

infrastructure, we are also involved with a number of local government projects, and most importantly for Wellington, where we are working with the Wellington City Council on a number of civil development projects which we, as Wellingtonians, are very excited about,” he says.

The public sector has been key to Meredith Connell’s growth into a full-service commercial law firm since the firm made it a part of its strategy to expand beyond its Auckland Crown Solicitor roots – which it still retains. Now with 23 practice areas, Patena says the firm represents most regulatory agencies as well as central and local government agencies, and that its Wellington office aims to continue to deepen these relationships over time.

“Traditionally a lot of policy leadership is driven out of Wellington, while a lot of transactional work occurs in Auckland. We’ve been historically focused on transactional work but have been for some time focusing on

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establishing relationships that mean we have the opportunity to provide more proactive policy advice rather than more reactive litigation advice.”

Full engagement Public sector procurement innovation is a theme colouring the practices of firms at the central and local government levels, with its potential to require cutting-edge legal talent in future.

“The central government is signalling some real innovation in the way it approaches government procurement and the provision of social services,” Nicholls says. “Some of that is attracting private capital into the provision of services through PPPs and social bonds. It’s also smart, innovative contracting for effective procurement and effective services delivery.”

Bell Gully, for example, has been advising regional district health boards (DHBs) on $1bn worth of laboratory services that will be

outsourced over the next 10 years.

“We have been advising the DHBs who are working together to leverage their combined procurement power for the advantage of their patients and the wider community,” Gordon says. “We expect this to continue to grow as they look for additional ways to use the model for more areas. We also expect government procurement, generally, to be done in smarter ways, utilising strong contracts and the Government Rules of Sourcing.”

But legal work in Wellington doesn’t end with the public sector. In fact, firms say 2015 in the capital has been characterised by a healthy spread of work across a full range of legal practice areas as the market shakes off the last remnants of the post-GFC slump.

Chapman Tripp, for example, has been advising Z Energy on the competition and capital-raising aspects of its $785m deal to acquire Chevron, while its finance lawyers are still advising banks exposed to the beleaguered miner, Solid Energy. The firm has also been advising telco Chorus on regulatory determinations regarding the pricing of core services.

Buddle Findlay continues to advise the NZ Transport Agency on its development of the national state highway network, including in Wellington. The firm is also busy advising the government on ICT matters, and is engaged in a range of commercial, banking, public, property and litigation work.

Meanwhile, Bell Gully’s litigation team in Wellington is particularly busy, with roles advising ANZ on the bank fees class action, Danone on its Fonterra botulism scare litigation, NZX on an acquisition-related matter, and PwC as the receivers of Ross Asset Management. Bell Gully’s corporate team is advising Australia’s David Jones on its acquisition of Kirkcaldie & Stains – something the firm calls an “exciting addition to Wellington’s retail scene” – as well as handling a property transaction for the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China. Leading energy lawyer David Coull continues to advise on energy asset consolidation in the market, while the firm advised Contact Energy on the sale of Origin’s 53% stake in a block trade worth $1.81bn under the new Financial Markets Conduct Act legislation.

Wellington is well known for its past record and future potential in the entrepreneurial, start-up and technology market, having been the birthplace of a number of fastgrowing tech companies. Both Bell Gully and Chapman Tripp are working with upcoming companies looking to grow fast through capital investment. Though the corporate IPO market has flattened, Wellington lawyers have seen more private equity activity in the last two years.

“What is, perhaps, different from previous years is the even spread of work across the practices and the increased use of our national resources,” Bell Gully’s Gordon says.

“Firms should never assume the status quo will prevail for very long. We also cannot assume our competition is just from other law firms” Chris Gordon, BELL GULLY

given the government’s cost constraints,” Gordon says.

However, firms also need to augment this with new corporate work. “We also have to be able to spot niche and growth areas, particularly in the corporate market, and be Winning in Wellington able to adapt and respond quickly and with Firms interested in surviving the intense the leading expertise we deliver across all competition in Wellington will continue to areas,” he says. emphasise excellent service for public sector For Chapman Tripp, continued supremacy clients. “We need to have a strong public in Wellington means being ambitious about sector focus but do it sustainably, particularly the market that can actually be serviced from

the city. Nicholls says this means not just regional Wellington clients but clients all over New Zealand, and in Australia and beyond.

“All of those can be serviced out of Wellington – it just requires energy and organisation from lawyers who want to be based in Wellington,” Nicholls explains. “We are really making sure our lawyers have ambitious horizons, and that we are working with Auckland and Christchurch offices and making sure we stay connected in Australia and beyond Australia.”

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WELLINGTON REPORT The rising power of in-house teams has been felt in Wellington as much as elsewhere.

All lawyers argue this makes a focus on cost and value non-negotiable for clients.

“It’s a different market than 10 years ago,” Beverley says. “The quality, size and strength of in-house legal teams means we have to be able to work really well alongside them, and demonstrate how we can add value to those teams. Service delivery has to be excellent and advice fit for purpose.”

Nicholls agrees. “Clients are looking for us to draw a link between the service we are providing and the value they are getting, and we hear clear messages from them on things like responsiveness and cost-consciousness and the need to deliver advice that is commercially effective as opposed to just straight legal advice.”

Patena says the Wellington market’s fiscal constraints and the need for the Crown to manage its balance sheet is a symptom of wider economic conditions. “It’s driving efficiency

and innovation in our own practice areas and a focus on value as well,” Patena says.

Gordon says Bell Gully’s smaller office in Wellington allows it to work on many projects with the firm’s Auckland office, providing resources at all levels. “Smart resourcing is becoming a key component to running a large, full-service law firm successfully,” he says.

He also warns firms to be ready for new sources of competition from unexpected places. “Firms should never assume the status quo will prevail for very long. We also cannot assume our competition is just from other law firms. For example, the growth internationally of accountant firms and technology firms developing expertise in areas traditionally believed to be law firm territory will happen – and already is happening – in New Zealand.”

Open to change Meredith Connell is being flexible about its long-term strategy in Wellington, which

Patena says will be organically driven by the needs and demands of its client base.

“We had an idea of what we wanted to achieve – to strengthen and deepen our relationships with our clients – and we are letting them tell us what role we can have in helping them, rather than us telling them what they need. That’s proven to be quite a success.”

While Patena says the firm’s office growth rate over the last 12 months is likely to plateau to a more manageable level next year, the firm has set no clear limit on size or scale, and will let any future expansion flow out of the work it is able to generate from its clients.

Because Meredith Connell – like all legal practices in Wellington – needs to stay nimble.

“One of the challenges law firms face is that things change over time. We are focusing on new opportunities rather than just those that we have already got in existence,” Patena says.

CULTURE WAR Competition in Wellington – and New Zealand more broadly – means law firms are having to focus harder on their culture to attract and retain the best legal talent in the market.

For example, Chapman Tripp’s Andy Nicholls says topping NZLawyer’s Employer of Choice Survey for the second year running was “really pleasing”, given that the firm relied on the support of its own lawyers to put it ahead of runners-up Buddle Findlay and Russell McVeagh.

“We’ve also recently been awarded a White Camellia Award for our diversity strategy, and that’s something that we have really focused on here in Wellington,” Nicholls says.

At the White Camellia Awards, which recognise organisations promoting gender equality through the international United Nations Women’s Empowerment Principles, Chapman Tripp won the top accolade in the ‘Leadership promotes gender equality’ category. Bell Gully and Simpson Grierson also took home awards that helped position law firms at the forefront of this area.

Bell Gully chairman Chris Gordon says the firm is focusing on putting its culture first in the current market.

“We are very focused on our people: our staff development and diversity initiatives are at the forefront of the partnership’s – and board’s – plans,” Gordon says. “A key focus for us this year is valuing our collegial and team culture, and ensuring that we are inclusive of everyone at Bell Gully. However, we are still very much on a journey.”

These efforts helped Bell Gully at Euromoney’s Asia Women in Business Law Awards, where the firm was recognised for having the best gender diversity initiative at a national law firm.

Meredith Connell’s Kane Patena says opening the firm’s new office in Wellington has given it a chance to experiment with creating a more modern legal practice and work environment.

“First, we are showing that our leadership team values and demonstrates culture and gender diversity, which is important for all organisations and particularly professional services practices. We’ve also ditched the corner office that many people aspire to, so we can facilitate communications across teams and different levels of seniority, and we are focusing on using technology as part of a more mobile workforce to create a seamless transition between Auckland and Wellington, which ultimately means better service for our clients.”

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TONY RYALL

FROM CABINET TO COMMERCIAL LAW FIRM Former top-rated MP Tony Ryall talks to Hannah Norton about heading up the new public policy practice at top-tier New Zealand firm Simpson Grierson

ORWELL SUMMED up the art of political language with the term ‘doublespeak’, and after nearly a quarter of a century in Parliament, that’s almost how you might expect Tony Ryall to talk.

But the former top-rated National Party minister is quite the contrary: chipper, chatty and quite open to deviating from a list of questions sent prior to the interview.

Perhaps he is out of practice – it’s his first interview since leaving Parliament.

However, one is more inclined to think he is far more relaxed in his new role as head of public policy at top-tier law firm Simpson Grierson.

“It’s a lot of fun actually. It’s very good – I’m enjoying it,” he tells NZLawyer.

During his time in the Beehive he was minister of a raft of departments – from health, to justice, to Housing New Zealand, local government and state services – roles he says he also “really enjoyed”.

“It was a great job in terms of having the opportunity to contribute at quite a big level and to work with a lot of really smart people.

“I’m thoroughly enjoying my new role as

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well, because not only do you work with a lot of smart people, you work with a lot of smart clients.

“It’s a very intellectually stimulating environment.”

‘Intellectually stimulating’ is an apt description of the legal profession, which by its very nature is often deemed to be

clients to help them achieve things.

“So I think, from that point of view, there are a lot of similarities in the people that I have worked with.”

Public policy practice Ryall’s appointment to head Simpson Grierson’s public policy practice was announced in

“In government, people’s motivations can be somewhat opaque, whereas [at Simpson Grierson], everyone is very supportive” filled with ‘Type A’ personalities. So, does Ryall think politicians might fall into that camp also?

“This is going to get me into trouble,” he laughs.

“Yes, I think so. I think most people in public office are very driven, and they are driven to achieve good things and to make a difference, and certainly I can see, working [at Simpson Grierson], there are a lot of driven people who enjoy working with their

November 2014 with the statement that the former MP – who isn’t a lawyer – would provide “strategic and operational leadership” to the firm.

He was personally headhunted by Simpson Grierson chairman Kevin Jaffe.

“Tony brings to Simpson Grierson a long and impressive track record in public life,” Jaffe said at the time, “and he will be a strong contributor to the firm’s senior leadership team. This appointment is another significant

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TONY RYALL

initiative in the development and growth of our firm.”

Ryall started in the role at the end of January 2015.

“I’m here because of a strategic decision that Simpson Grierson made about diversifying their offerings to their clients,” he says.

“So the work I am doing in public policy is one part of that, and they are going to be making a number of announcements on other areas in the not-too-distant future as well.”

He helps clients develop strategy around

years. I think ... in many ways you can see that bureaucracy doesn’t understand business – and potentially vice versa. And I think that’s one of the trends: it’s clear that both are trying to understand each other better in order to get greater alignment, which I think is really positive – and I am enjoying being involved in some of that process as well.”

That business-bureaucracy understanding is vital, he says.

“It’s the only way you can get anything done, to make sure there is alignment in

“There’s a range of areas I have been working in. And indeed, when you are based in one of New Zealand’s largest law firms, it is obvious there is going to be a huge variety of clients with an array of issues” the regulatory and legislative stakeholder issues they face.

“This is so they can achieve their business objectives with the wider public sector.”

Simpson Grierson has a lot of clients with “regulatory-facing activities”.

“My role is to work with the client and their relationship partner to assist them with those issues and help them get things done,” Ryall says.

Coming into a large law firm is quite a different culture to working in Parliament, he says.

“In government, people’s motivations can be somewhat opaque, whereas here, everyone is very supportive. So it’s quite a different culture from that point of view.”

Key trends In terms of the public policy sector, Ryall believes things are trucking along as usual.

“I don’t think it’s any different to previous

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interests, and an understanding about what the objectives are.

“The challenge for anyone who has got a lot of regulatory-facing activities is to get an understanding of what exactly is to be achieved, and what’s the best way of doing it. And as I say, as long as governments make laws, there’s going to be some people who have issues with it, and challenges they want dealt with.”

So, what is Ryall expecting the coming months to bring in terms of work?

“Our chairman, Kevin Jaffe – who I must say I am thoroughly enjoying working with – has recently identified a number of issues … that are going to be challenges over the next while. Issues like pay equity, climate change, water are all going to be significant public policy issues in the next year.”

While he doesn’t want to go into the specifics of current projects, he outlines some of the work he has been doing lately.

“I’ve been working with a number of institutions around regulatory strategies for dealing with a number of government reform programs – like the Financial Advisors Act, the Telecommunications Act. “I’m doing some work with a major exporter on export regulations and the impact from TPPA. So there’s a range of areas I have been working in. And, indeed, when you are based in one of New Zealand’s largest law firms, it is obvious there is going to be a huge variety of clients with an array of issues.”

The TPPA (Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement) is a free trade agreement between 12 nations, including Australia and New Zealand, which links 40% of the world’s economy.

“I’m all for it. New Zealand’s an export country, and we can’t afford to be locked out of what is going to be one of the major trade blocks for the future.”

Public to private Ryall says he is pleasantly surprised at how the knowledge and skills from his previous position have been quite transferable to his new role.

“And I think, in the future, we are going to see more and more examples of people moving in and out of the public and private sectors.

“One thing I have also observed is that both are relationship businesses,” he says.

“Government might look a lot like command and control, but it’s actually relationships that get stuff achieved.”

This job is certainly more of a nine-to-five compared to a government position.

“I think one of my observations about the change in roles is that you do get your weekends back.

“Particularly in those public service roles, a lot of your work happens on the weekends, and it’s been good to be able to have fewer calls on the weekend than in the previous role,” Ryall says.

Having his weekends back means more

time for hobbies and activities – including recreational cycling and spending time with family.

Married with two children, Ryall is currently living apart from his family, who aim to move up from Wellington to Auckland after the end of the school term in December.

But he still gets to see them – he’s based in the Auckland office of Simpson Grierson four days a week, and then at the Wellington office for one.

What does he enjoy most about his role?

“The new role is incredibly intellectually stimulating, because I am working with a lot of incredibly smart people and I’m working across a whole range of issues.

“I am just thoroughly enjoying being

here. And as I say, you don’t really have to worry about people’s agendas. You’re in an organisation where everyone is paddling the same way.”

Did he ever consider going to law school himself?

“I did think about it at one stage, but I spoke to one of my mentors in my career about what might be best suited for pursuing a parliamentary career, and they said they didn’t have enough accountants in Parliament so I chose that one.

“But in my roles that I had in government I had a lot to do with lawyers, and you learn a lot from overseeing the drafting, construction, and the implementation of legislation.

“So that’s given me quite a lot of insight

into some of the challenges particularly that businesses face, because as long as governments make law, for some people there will be regulatory issues.”

Ryall hasn’t found the public-to-private transition difficult in the slightest.

“I have to say, working with such a great bunch of people in such as stimulating environment – it wasn’t a hard thing to do,” he says.

“I’d made up my mind that I was going to leave public service [he resigned in February last year], so I’ve been looking forward to the change for a while.”

Has he heard of any other firms adopting a similar strategy of hiring politicians?

“That’s not for me to comment on,” Ryall says – a hint of the politician still there.

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EMPLOYMENT LAW

SAFETY FIRST Changes to New Zealand’s health and safety law are dominating a practice area that continues to provide plenty of surprises for its leading lawyers, writes Ben Abbott

REFORMS TO New Zealand’s health and safety regime in the form of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 are currently dominating employment law practices.

This is because the changes due to come into force in April 2016 are ones that have by far the most significant potential impact on the clients of law firms.

“The threat and reality of personal liability for directors and other senior management has sent shockwaves through boardrooms,” Susan Hornsby-Geluk says.

Founder of Dundas Street Employment Lawyers, one of New Zealand employment law’s boutique success stories which is

Health conscious Kiely Thompson Caisley is another boutique law firm – albeit with a sizeable 12-lawyer headcount – that has been advising clients on the health and safety law changes.

Though the firm handles the full gamut of employment law, IR and health and safety, and immigration law matters for toptier clients like Air New Zealand, it is its health and safety practice that is currently taking up most of the firm’s time.

“New Zealand has seen the largest health and safety reform that has been undertaken in over two decades,” partner Peter Kiely says. “The legislation represents a wide-

“The threat and reality of personal liability for directors and other senior management has sent shockwaves through boardrooms” Susan Hornsby-Geluk, DUNDAS STREET EMPLOYMENT LAWYERS now seven lawyers strong, Hornsby-Geluk says the health and safety laws are likely to remain “front and centre” in 2016.

“It’s created a great deal more interest and hands-on involvement in health and safety issues from the top down,” HornsbyGeluk says.

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sweeping and significant reform and it will be critical for clients moving forward to ensure compliance with the Act.” Kiely says many clients are trying to stay “ahead of the curve” in health and safety. The firm was busy with consultation submissions for clients ahead of a 30 October cut-off, and

has also been advising on the implications and decisions that have been seen in Australia’s regime, on which New Zealand’s new law is closely modelled.

Kiely says a number of concerns have risen to the surface among clients. “The biggest concern by small business, such as farmers in the agricultural sector, is that fines have been so big that they can actually end up closing a business down,” he says.

“Our response to that is to make sure that clients have the systems in place and have

done the things necessary so there aren’t any accidents in the first place.”

Simpson Grierson partner John Rooney says the firm has done an “awful lot of work” on the health and safety law changes, including “countless” presentations and workshops in industries that include health, education, manufacturing and forestry – some of which have had poorer records in recent years in New Zealand.

Rooney says the focus for many now is on officers’ duties, including senior managers

like chief executives and other members of the senior leadership team.

“There are going to be new due diligence duties for them, with significant personal obligations and potentially significant liability if they don’t comply,” Rooney says.

“Local government is one area that is taking particular focus – because of the breadth of their operations they are taking a bit of time to come to terms with it,” he says.

The demand has been so strong the firm has used the opportunity to innovate

outside of pure legal advice by launching its own health and safety consultancy.

“We have brought on board a non-lawyer – Terry Johnson, an ex-Fonterra director – to head Health & Safety Advisory Services.

We realised that, while we have a strong team and legal expertise, with an advisory service we now have an expert who is able to look at providing services to clients that build on our legal expertise.”

The new offering helps clients implement H&S strategy, including leadership and

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FEATURES

EMPLOYMENT LAW operational training, and advising on governance, reporting and audit processes.

High standards Though not as controversial as the health and safety changes, firms say the upcoming Employment Standards Bill contains some smaller changes that may affect clients.

“The Employment Standards Bill, if passed, will have a significant impact in relation to matters such as zero hours contracts and unreasonable wage deductions,” says Dundas Street’s Susan Hornsby-Geluk. “The reform of the parental leave regime, which will broaden the categories of workers eligible to receive paid parental leave, will also be significant from a practical perspective,” she says.

Termed an ‘omnibus’ bill by Peter Kiely, it deals with other issues like prohibiting employers from putting unreasonable restrictions on having a second job.

The Employment Relations Act (ERA) could also yield developments. “We expect legal challenges to test some new aspects of the Employment Relations Act that came into force in March 2015, such as pay deductions for partial strike action and potential claims of discrimination on the basis of union membership,” HornsbyGeluk says.

Dyhrberg Drayton Employment Law founder Steph Dyhrberg agrees. “The amendments to the ERA are quite recent, and people haven’t really been placing a lot of attention on it because health and safety is getting all the airtime. It’s possible that the ERA might have some unexpected consequences down the line.”

Dyhrberg says restraint of trade is another controversial area, with courts since 2013 having swung back in favour of enforcing such clauses. Employment lawyers agree this ‘pendulum’ is not providing much certainty to either party in these disputes, though they are facilitating “a lot of stroppy letters from lawyers and litigation”.

“If I could fix something that is an unnecessary cost to everyone involved, I’d regulate restraint of trade clearly, to either

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state when these terms are unlawful or make clear the circumstances under which they can be used and the process for doing that. At the moment, it doesn’t work well for anyone involved.”

Kiely is also seeing more restraint of trade matters, and more action around the keeping of confidential secrets. “These days with technology it is so easy to transfer information, and the law is doing its best to keep up with that,” he says.

For SMEs, Dyhrberg says the proper use of trial periods is an area to watch.

“We are still seeing people not appreciating the fact they need to sign employees up before they start work,” she says. “It is very clear to us that, unless they are signed up before they start work there will be issues if you get to Day 88 or 89 and then tell someone they are not up to scratch. Also, if you don’t raise any issues with people during the trial period and have

embrace the firm’s boutique status.

“Clients often like coming to smaller firms because we are specialists, but we also might be a wee bit more personable and approachable than the larger firm model.”

The firm’s appointment to the All-ofGovernment legal panel in its first year was a key win, though only about 70% of its work now comes from the government.

Currently housing three lawyers in total, Dyhrberg says the firm may scale up slightly but its partnership wants to keep things manageably small.

This year, the firm acted on behalf of two paramedics who were reinstated on an interim basis by Wellington Free Ambulance, after the Employment Relations Authority found they had an arguable case that they had been unjustifiably dismissed.

Dyhrberg says there are many cases in which employers get basics like

“If I could fix something that is an unnecessary cost to everyone involved, I’d regulate restraint of trade clearly” Steph Dyhrberg, DYHRBERG DRAYTON EMPLOYMENT LAW a good-faith conversation, you are likely to get into trouble.”

Collective bargaining will continue to see activity next year, Hornsby-Geluk says.

“There has been significant activity in both private and public sector bargaining, with employers and unions coming to grips with the new legislation in relation to strikes and how this impacts on the respective parties’ bargaining leverage.”

And while high-profile pay equity claims have been put on hold while a government working party gets to grips with the issue, Rooney says it is soon likely to become a hot area. “It involves a lot of dollars; that’s always something that attracts attention.”

Employment law ABCs Dyhrberg Drayton Employment Law started almost five years ago. Since then, partner Steph Dyhrberg says she has seen clients

performance management, disciplinary processes and investigations wrong, often because they are under pressure to run a process too quickly and to achieve a certain outcome. Often, she says, employers will avoid a problem until they are forced into rash action.

“You would have thought after all these years these things would be the ABCs of employment practice,” she says.

“But lawyers forget that managers going through these processes are human – they get stressed, have all the same fears and insecurities, and will avoid things if they can. We are all dealing with human nature.”

However, it is just this that makes employment law such an interesting practice area to work in. “We seem to see all of life’s rich tapestry. The variety of things that people can get up to at work never ceases to amaze me,” Dyhrberg says.

A BAR TOO HIGH? Ask employment lawyers what the most important case in the market will be next year, and the answer will most likely be unanimous: A Ltd v H. The Court of Appeal has granted an airline (A Ltd) leave to appeal an Employment Court decision that reinstated a pilot who was dismissed after an internal investigation into sexual harassment allegations. The case is due to be heard in early 2016, Overturning a determination by the Employment Relations Authority that the dismissal was justified, the Employment Court controversially ruled that the airline’s investigation into ‘Mr H’ was flawed for a number of reasons.

Kiely Thompson Caisley, which is representing the employer in this landmark case, has found many clients expressing concerns about the increase in the standard of disciplinary investigations being required by the Employment Court.

“Despite legislative amendment in the award of reinstatement there is a trend where more employees are being reinstated by the Employment Court following findings of unjustified dismissal,” partner Peter Kiely told NZLawyer.

Dundas Street’s Susan Hornsby-Geluk says that, in granting leave to appeal, the Court of Appeal has already noted the standards may have been set too high for employers.

“It has foreshadowed the Employment Court may have set the bar too high in terms of how robust an employer is expected to be in investigating allegations, and that this is not expected to be ‘the equivalent of a judicial investigation’,” she says.

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The who’s who of the New Zealand legal profession came together on Thursday 19 November to celebrate the achievements of the industry’s best. A record crowd of 520 legal industry leaders gathered at the Pullman Hotel in Auckland for the 11th annual New Zealand Law Awards, proudly supported by event partner Crowe Horwath.

Marking the culmination of weeks of anticipation, 26 award winners were announced on the night, showcasing the efforts of outstanding firms and in-house legal teams across New Zealand. The black-tie event, hosted by television journalist Mike McRoberts, was an evening of true celebration, and NZLawyer and Crowe Horwath congratulate all of this year’s award winners. Read on to find out who they are

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NEW ZEALAND LAW AWARDS WINNERS 2O15 BOUTIQUE LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR

MID-SIZE LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR

WEBB HENDERSON

ANDERSON LLOYD

A “one-firm” senior-weighted approach worked in Webb Henderson’s favour, partner Garth Sinclair explains: “It’s a compact, focused team and we work really closely with both the client and other advisers.”

It’s been a big year for Anderson Lloyd, which established a new Auckland office and opened new premises in Christchurch – the first newly consented building in the post-earthquake Christchurch CBD.

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LARGE LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY SPECIALIST LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR

BELL GULLY

“We’ve had a very strong year, and it does come down to clients and people,” says Bell Gully partner Ian Gault. This past year the firm has advised on major IPOs including Medibank, Metroglass, Orion Health and Fliway, and won roles in some of the most significant transactions shaping the New Zealand legal market.

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AJ PARK

Attention to detail and passion for what they do is behind AJ Park’s third consecutive win, according to CEO Pete Boyle. “It’s a real reflection of the quality of our people,” said Boyle, who leads 200 employees in a firm that has sustained 20 years of growth and now boasts a client and associate footprint extending to 130 countries.

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REGIONAL/SUBURBAN LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR

EMPLOYMENT LAW SPECIALIST FIRM OF THE YEAR

BLACKMANSPARGO RURAL LAW

DYHRBERG DRAYTON EMPLOYMENT LAW

Winning this category for the third year in a row is a good reward for hard work, says BlackmanSpargo director Chris Spargo. As the only legal practice in New Zealand to specialise exclusively in rural law, the firm prides itself on ‘punching above its weight’ in the legal community.

It was an “amazing” feeling for Dyhrberg Drayton partner Steph Dyhrberg to win this competitive category. The firm, now in its fifth year of operation, has increased its market share of public sector work and improved its standing in the All of Government Panel ratings, now ranking first for quality and second for value for money.

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NEW ZEALAND LAW AWARDS WINNERS 2O15

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INSURANCE SPECIALIST LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR

LITIGATION & DISPUTE RESOLUTION SPECIALIST LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR

DAC BEACHCROFT NEW ZEALAND

WILSON HARLE

Acting in key insurance cases during 2015 provided strong backing for DAC Beachcroft’s win in this category. The firm’s achievements include a successful indemnity defence in the Nautilus and acting in New Zealand’s leading arbitration decision in the Supreme Court. Upon accepting the award, partner Mathew Francis put it simply: “It’s been a good year for us.”

With four partners and 10 solicitors, the size and structure of Wilson Harle is designed to be similar to a litigation team in a national firm to enable it to handle major cases. “We have quite a broad practice so there’s plenty of variation,” partner Chris Browne says.

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PROPERTY & CONSTRUCTION SPECIALIST LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR

EMPLOYER OF CHOICE: 1–50 EMPLOYEES

THOMPSON BLACKIE BIDDLES

BLACKMANSPARGO RURAL LAW

In the third successive year that Thompson Blackie Biddles has won this category, the firm has been mandated on over $950m worth of commercial property transactions over the past 12 months.

“It’s all about our staff,” says BlackmanSpargo Rural Law director Chris Spargo. The firm focuses on providing a decent work-life balance in a busy, supportive working environment where everyone can voice their opinion.

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EMPLOYER OF CHOICE: MORE THAN 100 EMPLOYEES

ANTHONY HARPER

RUSSELL MCVEAGH

Winning this award for the second year in a row, Anthony Harper COO Lisa Jacobs credits the firm's 'whole firm' approach: "We celebrate together," she says.

“Staff are our biggest asset, so if they believe in our business that’s pretty important to us,” says Russell McVeagh senior associate David Raudkivi.

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NEW ZEALAND LAW AWARDS WINNERS 2O15 MEDIATOR OF THE YEAR

DAVID HURLEY

YOUNG PRIVATE PRACTICE LAWYER OF THE YEAR (UNDER 35)

JANINE STEWART

MINTER ELLISON RUDD WATTS

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“It’s a huge honour,” says Mediator of the Year winner David Hurley. “What I’m delighted about is that … employment mediation within the government service is being recognised for doing a good job, and I’m really happy about that.”

A role model for young lawyers, Stewart led multimillion-dollar litigation in 2014–15 and adeptly balances her client and firm commitments as a partner in the Minter Ellison Rudd Watts Construction team with being the mother of two young boys. “The construction area is a difficult area for women, and it’s great to be recognised in this space,” she says.

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MANAGING PARTNER OF THE YEAR

ANDREW POOLE

With 2015 his final year as managing partner at Chapman Tripp, Poole has led the firm through a decade of growth, advising on high-profile and complex deals and playing a pivotal role in leading the firm’s client feedback program.

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NEW ZEALAND LAW AWARDS WINNERS 2O15 YOUNG IN-HOUSE LAWYER OF THE YEAR (UNDER 35)

TOM LANE

LION – BEER, SPIRITS & WINE (NZ)

“The alcohol industry is tough so it’s been a really exciting place to be an in-house lawyer,” says Young In-House Lawyer of the Year winner Tom Lane. “I think there have been significant challenges but we’ve really come through with great success.”

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IN-HOUSE LAWYER OF THE YEAR

CRAIG MULHOLLAND

ANZ BANK NEW ZEALAND

As general counsel and company secretary, Craig Mulholland has helped guide ANZ through one of the most significant periods of legislative and regulatory reform in the country’s financial services sector history. In 2015, staff engagement in the legal team reached a record 92% despite an intense workload and reduced headcount.

BANKING & FINANCE IN-HOUSE TEAM OF THE YEAR

INSURANCE IN-HOUSE TEAM OF THE YEAR

ASB BANK

AIG INSURANCE

It has been a notable year for ASB Legal Services, with 2015 seeing the team support their internal customers in the areas of innovation and regulation. ASB Legal Services general manager Simon Pond says, “There’s a lot going on in the bank that we are right into, so we are really happy with [the award].”

Taking out this category for the second year in a row, the AIG Legal team are “absolutely delighted", says general counsel Richard Shine. Notably, this year the team worked with the Christchurch City Council on the largest individual claim arising from the Christchurch earthquake and provided key advice to the ICNZ.

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IN-HOUSE TEAM OF THE YEAR

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It’s all about teamwork, says Auckland Council legal and risk director Katherine Anderson. On what caught the judges’ eye: “The range of legal work that the team does … the diversity of commercial through to public law through to other transactions, and the fact that we’ve managed to top the organisation in terms of staff engagement.”

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NEW ZEALAND LAW AWARDS WINNERS 2O15 M&A DEAL OF THE YEAR

HARVARD MANAGEMENT SALE OF INTEREST IN KAINGAROA FOREST

“It was a challenging deal – there was a lot of complexity and it involved a number of different parties who all pulled together to make it happen,” says Russell McVeagh partner John-Paul Rice.

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CONSUMER, MEDIA & TECH DEAL OF THE YEAR

NEGOTIATION OF 2016–20 SANZAR RIGHTS FOR SKY TELEVISION

This five-year deal with four rugby unions is the largest and most valuable television rights deal in the history of New Zealand television and sport. Buddle Findlay partner Philip Wood highlighted the size of the transaction: “It covers five years’ worth of New Zealand rugby – there’s a lot of value in there,” he says.

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CAPITAL MARKETS DEAL OF THE YEAR

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MILLENNIUM & COPTHORNE DISTRIBUTION IN SPECIE

SALE OF GFG TO WIRECARD

This deal stood out for its complexity, says Takeshi Ito, Millenium & Copthorne Hotels New Zealand company secretary. “We had to tie in with a Singaporean IPO … it involved some fantastic work both in New Zealand and overseas.”

Multiple shareholders, assets all over the world and contracts governed by foreign laws gave this transaction a particular level of complexity. “It was great to have this outcome for the client,” says Anthony Harper managing partner Malcolm Hurley.

INTERNATIONAL DEAL OF THE YEAR

NEW ZEALAND DEAL OF THE YEAR

MILLENNIUM & COPTHORNE DISTRIBUTION IN SPECIE

NEGOTIATION OF 2016–20 SANZAR RIGHTS FOR SKY TELEVISION

“It’s an interesting transaction – a lot of moving parts all coming together,” Bell Gully partner James Cooney explains. “It’s quite a complex deal and I’m happy that it’s getting recognition.”

The scale of this transaction meant involving innovative and groundbreaking provisions to deal with the need to address regulatory, contractual, intellectual property and tax law in four jurisdictions.

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Crowe Horwath offers a full range of accounting services, including tax, audit and business advice across our 24 New Zealand offices.

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AIG is a leading international insurance organisation serving customers in more than 130 countries. Operating in New Zealand since 1970, AIG serves commercial, institutional and individual customers through one of the most extensive worldwide property-casualty networks of any insurer.

AIG's Financial Lines provides innovative management liability, cyber liability, mergers and acquisitions liability and specific professional indemnity protection tailored to fit the individual needs of New Zealand and multinational organisations. Our global capacity, expertise and claims capabilities, coupled with our local presence, provide clients with the tools needed to mitigate the emerging board-level risks they face while striving towards a successful future.

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Anthony Harper is an award-winning national law firm.

There is a difference with how we work … a difference that sets us apart from our competitors.

We are deeply immersed in our 16 specialist areas: banking and finance, insolvency and corporate recovery, construction, corporate advisory, employment, food and beverage, insurance, intellectual property, litigation, logistics and transport, property, resource management, retail, retirement villages, technology and trusts and asset planning.

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Konica Minolta New Zealand is a market leader in the provision of document management and print solutions, with more than 40 years’ experience helping New Zealand businesses to efficiently manage information flow and harness new document technology. Owned by CSG Limited, a leading Australasian IT services company, Konica Minolta New Zealand still has close ties with Konica Minolta Japan, which retains a shareholding in the company. Our global connections and local focus allow us to provide customers with solutions tailored to fit their businesses.

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Legal Personnel is a full-service specialist legal recruitment company recruiting permanent, temporary and contract positions for senior associates, solicitors, legal executives, legal secretaries and administration positions (including practice managers, accounting and trust accounts staff). Market mapping, searches, identifying talent for the future, succession recruitment and helping small firms and sole practitioners transition to new firms successfully are all in a day's work. Our career workshops offer clarity and confidence in finding purpose in what we do and to be able to articulate the value you bring to the role you take on.

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Prendos is a leading consultant to the property and construction industry. With more than 25 years' experience across all building types and market sectors, the company delivers independent, expert advice through a network of offices across New Zealand.

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Russell McVeagh is an award-winning firm with an established history of excellence.

Widely regarded as New Zealand’s premier law firm, we employ over 200 lawyers across our offices in Auckland and Wellington. Our solicitors advise across nine key practice groups: Competition, Corporate, Employment, Environment Planning & Natural Resources, Finance, Litigation, Property, Public Law and Tax. We represent leading corporations, financial institutions, state-owned enterprises, government entities and multinational companies on their most complex, challenging and high-profile transactions. Russell McVeagh is committed to understanding our clients and providing commercially focused solutions.

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Tempest Litigation Funders Limited is a New Zealandbased litigation funder established to provide assistance and funding to plaintiffs involved in commercial litigation ranging from $200,000 to $2m. Tempest Litigation Funders is privately owned and backed by individuals that are commercially active in the business community.

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PEOPLE

SAM O’MALLEY

LIVING THE HONG KONG LIFE Minter Ellison associate Sam O’Malley left New Zealand more than four years ago to embark on an OE in Hong Kong.

Tim Garratt reports on O’Malley’s experiences in this fast-paced business centre

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IF THERE’S one thing Sam O’Malley has learned while working as a lawyer in Hong Kong, it’s the high regard in which legal training in New Zealand is held.

“I didn’t fully realise until moving to Hong Kong just how lucky we are as junior lawyers in New Zealand in terms of the training we receive from our universities and the law firms that take us on,” O’Malley tells NZLawyer.

“I think the comparatively informal, collegial and flat working culture in New Zealand is a real advantage for New Zealand young lawyers coming through,” he says. “It lends itself to getting a higher level of access and ability to learn directly from partners and other senior practitioners than junior lawyers in larger jurisdictions might enjoy.

“It seems New Zealand-trained lawyers are regarded highly [in] the Hong Kong legal market. Most of the advertisements for legal positions in Hong Kong will refer explicitly to New Zealand-trained lawyers alongside the UK, US and Australian jurisdictions as being preferred for the role.”

Originally from Wellington and educated at Otago University, O’Malley made the move to Hong Kong in June 2011.

“Before moving here I worked in Bell Gully’s Wellington office for almost four years,” he says.

On what started the cogs turning on his move to Hong Kong, O’Malley says: “I was fortunate enough to have some family with professional connections to Asia, and talking to them about the region and its growing importance to New Zealand sparked my interest in living and working in Hong Kong.”

O’Malley then contacted a university friend who was working as a legal recruiter in Hong Kong. “He gave me an overview of Hong Kong’s legal market and which firms were strong in my area of practice.

“A short time later I started talking to Minter Ellison’s Hong Kong office, and after two interviews I undertook while still based in New Zealand, I took up a position in their projects team.”

That team advises on infrastructure projects being undertaken in Hong Kong,

Mainland China and Southeast Asia.

“The projects I work on are mainly in the PPP, energy and resources and hospitality sectors,” O’Malley says.

“We also advise on a reasonable amount of international trade matters, usually acting for Chinese SOEs or other commodity purchasers regarding their Australian coalpurchasing activities.

“Periodically I also work on matters with a New Zealand element, alongside my colleagues at Minter Ellison Rudd Watts.

These transactions usually involve a client of our Hong Kong office looking at an acquisition in New Zealand, or a company in New Zealand seeking to raise capital from Asia.”

Hong Kong Government-led PPP for a new sporting precinct, which has an expected development cost of NZ$4.5bn.

“The centrepiece of the precinct will be a new national sports stadium which once completed will host the Hong Kong Sevens and the city’s other major events,” he says.

Asked what he enjoys most about his current role, O’Malley says: “I enjoy the fact that I get to practise an area of law I find interesting, in a regional economy that’s only going to become more and more relevant to my generation over our working lives.

“Everyone that comes to Hong Kong to do business has a different background, world view and way of operating, which makes no two projects the same.”

“Almost every project we work on has a cross-border component. This means there is a lot of liaising required with in-house counsel in whichever Asian jurisdiction is relevant to the particular project” O’Malley describes his day-to-day work as not particularly different from practising in New Zealand, with a mix of contractual drafting, teleconferences and meetings throughout the day.

“Almost every project we work on has a cross-border component,” he says. “This means there is a lot of liaising required with in-house counsel in whichever Asian jurisdiction is relevant to the particular project. These jurisdictions are also not usually based on the Commonwealth legal system.

“One practical difference to practising in New Zealand is that often the documents we will be working on will need to be translated into two or sometimes three languages, so building in time for, and managing, the translation process is a practical aspect of the job which differs from most New Zealand transactions.”

Currently, O’Malley is working on a

And what would O’Malley cite as the most challenging facet of the role?

“At a practical level the most challenging aspect of working in Hong Kong is not having the language skills (Mandarin and Cantonese) that a lot of our clients have,” he says.

“This is relatively easily overcome, but if I could magically acquire an additional skill then languages would be it.”

Moving the discussion to daily life in Hong Kong, NZLawyer asks O’Malley what he finds most interesting about the city in which he currently resides. “Hong Kong, since it came into existence through an accident of history, has always been a unique meeting place between Western and Chinese culture,” he says.

“This, combined with the city’s confined space [twice the size of Lake Taupo] and the fact the region is being looked to for the world’s growth over the next 50 years, makes

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PEOPLE

SAM O’MALLEY Hong Kong in my opinion the most unique world city.”

While living in Hong Kong does mean living within a foreign culture, O’Malley says there’s enough Western influence to make Hong Kong “a very easy existence” for expats.

“Behind Singapore, Hong Kong is the

most densely populated city on Earth. This is both a good and bad thing. It means we get world-class public transport and cheap mobile phone and broadband plans. But it also makes it often difficult to walk down the footpath.”

O’Malley then raises the issue of housing.

“Almost everyone in Hong Kong lives in small

O’MALLEY’S OBSERVATIONS OF THE HONG KONG MARKET

“The trend in the Hong Kong market is all about how the city will carve out a place for itself within China, and its long-term relationship with Beijing,” Sam O’Malley tells NZLawyer.

“Hong Kong is extremely dependent on the Mainland Chinese economy continuing to use the city as a professional services hub. However, as was evidenced by the Occupy Central protests last year, this increasing dependency is raising a lot of social and political issues that have still not been resolved.”

He adds, “Beijing has the ability to do a lot of good things for Hong Kong, but it can also direct favour towards other cities within China that have designs on replacing Hong Kong as China’s professional

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services hub, such as Shanghai and Shenzhen.

“How well Hong Kong navigates the political process will go a long way towards determining the future success of the city, and as a consequence its legal services industry.”

So, what are O’Malley’s own predictions?

“I think Hong Kong will be okay,” he says. “One of Hong Kong’s key comparative advantages over all other Chinese cities is its common law based legal system. I can’t see Beijing allowing a common law legal system to exist anywhere else within Mainland China.

“I think so long as Hong Kong continues to respect the Rule of Law, it will also continue to be a good place for lawyers!”

high-rise apartments, and the rent is some of the most expensive in the world. However, a top income tax rate of 17% makes these high rents manageable.”

Living in Hong Kong has required O’Malley to learn to live in a climate far removed from that to which he was previously accustomed. “Hong Kong’s average daily temperature is over 30 degrees plus for nine months a year. Wellington’s isn’t.”

Looking ahead, O’Malley contemplates where he sees himself in five years’ time – both in terms of his career and country of residence.

“Everyone that comes to Hong Kong to do business has a different background, world view and way of operating, which makes no two projects the same” “In five years I see myself continuing to practise law in a way that allows me to continue to have some exposure to China.

“Location-wise, that could either happen here in Hong Kong or back in New Zealand.”

So, what advice would O’Malley offer to a New Zealand lawyer considering a role in another country?

“I would recommend a stint in another jurisdiction to any New Zealand lawyer,” he says.

“I’d also encourage junior New Zealand lawyers to consider an OE experience somewhere in Asia. The connections made and experience gained here will often be directly relevant to your career if you want to someday return to New Zealand, in a way that an OE in somewhere like London might not.”

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BUSINESS STRATEGY

MONOTASKING

WHY MONOTASKING IS THE NEW BLACK Forget multitasking; we need to narrow our focus to become more efficient and stay mentally fit, according to brain expert Dr Jenny Brockis

SURVIVING IN the crazy, busy modern workplace has resulted in our adoption of some new strategies designed to save us time. The problem is that no one appears to have done the necessary checks to see that these actually work. The one strategy most widely adopted has turned out to be the worst performance-enhancing strategy ever, because it requires us to use our brain in the way it wasn’t designed for.

Yes, multitasking is the biggest new brain myth on the block. It’s time to get rid of it and replace it with a far more efficient method of getting more done – monotasking.

Multitasking is trying to focus on more than one thing at a time. Sure, you can drink a coffee while walking along and talking to a colleague, crossing the road and taking a selfie, but you’re not paying focused attention to any one of those things, including your colleague.

One of the reasons multitasking has become so pervasive is that everyone’s doing it, and ticking off items on our to-do lists makes us feel good – which adds to the delusion. We know using our mobile phones while driving is dangerous, yet over 70% of us admit to doing it. We ignore the risk because multitasking has become the ‘norm’; it’s considered a basic work requirement. We even post job adverts stating multitasking skills are desired.

Multitasking fragments our attention; a quick email response here, a two-minute conversation there – we skim information and only grab the headlines. The outcome?

The cognitive cost includes poorer memory, mental fatigue, and reduced efficiency, effectiveness and innovation. We make more mistakes and we miss opportunities.

Overall, multitasking puts us at increased risk of burnout, damaged relationships and

WHY MULTITASKING FAILS When we attempt to multitask, our obliging brain tries to help by giving one task to each hemisphere.

The trouble is, the brain can still only pay attention to one task at a time, so the brain task switches very, very fast, giving us the illusion that we are paying attention to two things simultaneously.

This can be made more obvious when we look at optical illusions.

What do you see in this picture, an Indian chief or an Inuit?

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poorer performance. Hardly the time and energy-saving solution we thought it might be.

What’s going on in the brain when we multitask?

One of our brain’s primary functions is to keep us safe; we scan our environment every one-fifth of a second on the lookout for a change. The brain loves patterns and what is familiar because the implication is that this is a safe place. Our selective focus has developed so we pay attention to what is most important to us at any given moment while being alert to other things happening on the periphery.

When we direct our focused attention, we use part of our prefrontal cortex, the highly specialised part of our frontal lobes used for our higher-order executive thoughts such as planning, organising and regulating emotion.

This area has what can only be considered a couple of design flaws: it’s small, highly energy demanding and can only handle a small amount of information at any one time. That’s why the number of thoughts we can hold ‘front of mind’ at any given time is around seven. As the ideas get more complex, the space available reduces. When it comes to focused attention, there is only room for one.

Multitasking is the one brain function that the more we practise, the worse we get! It has been shown that chronic media multitaskers fragment their attention so much that they perform worse even when trying to monotask.

It has been estimated that multitasking causes us to make up to 50% more mistakes and take 50% longer to complete our work,

equivalent to roughly a 25% drop in individual productivity over the course of the day. That innocuous two-minute interruption – ‘have you got a moment?’ – can translate into 24 minutes before you get back to where you were before your train of thought was broken.

No wonder some days we can feel we’ve got nothing done yet are exhausted.

Multitasking in an organisation reduces performance further, for example when we are kept waiting for a piece of work by a multitasking colleague or need a decision to be made to move forward on a new project so we end up starting something else.

We cannot multitask even if we are young, if we are female, if we are Clark Kent, or if we like wearing our underpants over our trousers. Multitasking is multifailing unless you happen to be one of the 2% on the planet who are supertaskers and whose performance gets better the more they multitask. By the way – if you haven’t undergone the cognitive tests to prove it, your belief in your ability to multitask is delusional and research has shown that those who believe they are really good at multitasking perform the worst overall ( just saying!). The way to get rid of multitasking is to stop doing it. But just like giving up any habit such as smoking, it’s not

always easy, especially if we are under pressure and the temptation for the brain is to default to the survival route it thinks works best.

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Introducing monotasking into the workplace

While we can all try to limit our multitasking tendencies individually, there is also a need to reduce organisational multitasking, which has to come from the top. Making monotasking the preferred way of doing gives everyone permission to follow suit.

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Prioritise your priorities

3

Communicate your priorities

Take 10 minutes at the end of the working day to determine your top three most important and urgent tasks for the next day and list them in order of priority. Shove everything else into a holding pen – those items can wait. Next day, start on your top priority first and don’t move to the second item until the first is completed.

In the office, make sure everyone is on the same page and knows which priorities have been agreed on so that there is no temptation to start on something else – this will boost completion rates.

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Practise monotasking

Choose one activity, close the office door, switch the mobile to silent, avoid all interruptions, and work on just that one activity for a specified amount of time, say 20 minutes.

Monotasking leads to more work being completed more quickly, to a higher standard, and consumes less energy. Completing our work well feels rewarding, resulting in the brain secreting more dopamine, making us feel good and motivating us to repeat that rewarding activity.

Emotions are contagious, so when we are feeling good, others will too, and the working atmosphere becomes more positive and vibrant. Being in a more positive mood opens our mind to more innovative and creative thinking, making it easier to solve more problems and make good decisions. Working with our brain in the way it was intended is not just a better way of working; it leads towards creating a high-performance workplace. That’s why monotasking is the new black.

Dr Jenny Brockis is a medical practitioner, specialist in the science of high performance thinking, and author of Future Brain: The 12 Keys to Create Your High-Performance Brain (Wiley).

Visit www.drjennybrockis.com.

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BUSINESS STRATEGY

CORPORATE WELLNESS

HEALTHY BODY + HEALTHY MIND = HEALTHY CAREER Our bodies are finely tuned machines, yet we tend to drive them into the ground, ignore warning signs, and generally treat them poorly.

But what if we could tap into a whole workforce of finely tuned, healthy and active employees?

Christopher Paterson reports IN TRUTH, most of us do not fully understand the intricate design of our brains and bodies and, as a result, we are operating at a fraction of our full capacity.

Further, what you may not realise is how this may be holding you back in terms of your career and life success. Multiply this across an entire organisation and the gap between current performance and potential performance widens exponentially.

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Neurological, biological and psychological data shows us that we have prioritised our workloads and our success far above our mental and physical wellness. As a result, we have become disconnected from the fundamentals of how the human body functions. This is having an impact on our ability to solve complex problems, come up with new ideas, and push the boundaries of our capability. It is not surprising that

it is also inflating our levels of stress and anxiety.

While we all have access to a very impressive machine in the form of the human brain and body, it’s extremely finetuned. What happens to a finely tuned machine when we put it under sustained pressure? Performance suffers and it breaks down. You’ll see these breakdown signs among your friends and family, your colleagues and staff, and you’ll also see the signs within yourself. While we see the signs, we don’t know a different way, so we keep doing the same things. We do our best and hope things will improve.

However, taking time to understand the fundamentals of how we are designed has now become a critical sustainability issue. Changing the way we do things, and working with, rather than against, our body will ultimately allow you to be at your best both in and out of the office.

TOP TIPS FOR BUSINESS 99 Identify ‘wellness champions’ in senior roles 99 Promote positive wellness behaviours with targeted, evidence-based workshops 99 Track wellness factors throughout the year to assess risks and celebrate success 99 Train team leaders to promote and facilitate wellness across their teams 99 Have an integrated corporate wellness plan and measure its effectiveness 99 Have fun with it!

PERFORMANCE AND AROUSAL While the Yerkes-Dodson law shows the correlation between ‘performance’ and ‘arousal’, we try not to use the word arousal too much in the workplace, so let’s call this ‘pressure’ instead. This research proves

Neurological, biological and psychological data shows us that we have prioritised our workloads and our success far above our mental and physical wellness CAREER OUTCOMES A review of the published research has shown that individuals who work with this knowledge experience lower stress levels, greater mental alertness, more energy, higher self-esteem, better memory, greater work fulfilment, less workload pressure and greater concentration.

Not surprisingly, this facilitates improved job output, increased creativity, and greater overall career success. On an organisational level, imagine a whole workforce of these individuals! This is organisational performance and capability redefined and adds a unique dimension to a company’s market differentiation.

that a certain amount of pressure enhances performance to the point that is our sweet spot of optimal performance. However, when additional pressure is applied, this creates stress and our performance decreases. Unfortunately, this is the reality of the modern workplace. Therefore, our first task is to identify the triggers that are creating this additional pressure, and our next task is to have specific strategies on hand to manage them effectively.

It’s not always possible to remove them, but with a better understanding of our neurological and biological toolkit we can get back to our sweet spot of optimal performance.

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BUSINESS STRATEGY

CORPORATE WELLNESS

TOP 10 TIPS FOR INDIVIDUALS 99 Get a complete body diagnostic from an integrative doctor to understand your nutritional needs 99 Get moving every 45 minutes 99 Connect with positive people face-to-face 99 Book a mini break away 99 Remove smart technology from the bedroom and replace it with a good alarm clock (no snooze) 99 Wake up at the same time each morning and get your body to some natural light 99 Find that hobby that allows you to unplug and unwind 99 Share your plan with someone 99 The more stressed you are, the MORE you do these things, not less 99 Set a reminder to review your plan once a week for six weeks

WELLNESS TOOLKIT The good news is that the research also highlights the mistakes we’re making and identifies the specific things we can do to be at our best. This data points to the following three key elements of wellness that all play a role in our work and life success.

Cognitive wellness – our brain@work Understanding our brain functionality, particularly the prefrontal cortex (PFC), allows us to unlock the full potential of our cognition. Unfortunately, we currently tire our brain out with low-level tasks and are left wanting when we need to switch into higherorder analysis or creativity. In addition, the multitasking way in which we attempt to work creates unnecessary pressure for the poor old PFC and we fail to produce our best thinking.

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Emotional wellness – our limbic system@work While still in the brain, our limbic system is the centre for all our emotional responses, even mild ones. So every time we’re a little bit worried, stressed or feeling under pressure, this powerful system gets quickly activated and absorbs all of the cognitive energy, decreasing the quality of our thinking and pushing us beyond our sweet spot.

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Six cylinders of wellness In a 2009 review of our career transition clients, we observed that there were two types of people being coached through career change.

While both had equivalent levels of intelligence, experience and capability, Group A would navigate change with confidence, resilience and focus while Group B struggled to adapt, took a lot longer to bounce back from setbacks, and experienced higher levels of stress and anxiety.

A closer investigation of the factors at play, cross checked with the research, revealed that Group A were simply making better decisions

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SIX CYLINDER STATISTICS

65% – the drop in fatigue by those who do 20 minutes of low-intensity activity a day

50% – the drop in heart attack risk for those who regularly take holidays

30 – the number of chews required to get the

in six key areas of their lives.

We call them the six cylinders of wellness and they are: Nutrition, Social Connections, Activity, Time Out, Sleep and Outlets.

Last year, we tested a workshop program that educated staff on three of these wellness elements, including the six cylinders. This enabled them to identify the areas that required attention and the specific, practical actions that they could take to facilitate a stronger wellness profile. We found that by making small adjustments staff were able to reduce their stress levels by 8% and their workload pressure by 16%, while also increasing their focus and concentration by 5%.

BUSINESS CASE We support staff because it’s the right thing to do, and in an environment where workplace stress and anxiety are on the rise, a focus on wellness is key. Alongside the humanistic argument, the data shows that a well organisation will be more productive and creative, with staff who are less stressed, more mentally alert, energetic, fulfilled, focused and successful.

TAKE ACTION On a personal level you will be more successful if you manage your own wellness.

On an organisational level, your business will be more successful if you can facilitate enhanced wellness profiles for your staff.

The pressures that are currently holding you and your staff back are not likely to go away, so inaction is not an option.

maximum nutrients out of each bite

15% – the increase in your happiness probability as a result of having happy friends

95% of people use brain-activating ‘blue screen’ emitting technology within one hour of bed

7 years – the reduction in life expectancy from sitting for more than six hours per day

Christopher Paterson is the managing director of ALCHEMY Career Management, a firm that supports individuals to transition their career; assists companies adapting to organisational change; and delivers Wellness@Work programs for any organisation wanting to help staff to be at their best. For more information, visit alchemycm.com.au/.

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