Our Recent Work

The following are examples of our recent work:

Commercial

  • Dealing with a transaction forming an aspect of the redevelopment of Eden Park for the 2011 RWC
  • Helping a Maori settlement trust with a wide range of governance and commercial issues
  • Assisting the New Zealand joint venture party to extricate itself from an international joint venture in the optometry industry
  • Advising US based asset financiers in respect of potential enforcement of securities in New Zealand
  • Advising on proportionate ownership schemes, including advising on Securities Act implications
  • Acting in relation to the establishment of a new television station, including dealing with funding and shareholder issues and negotiating and documenting contractual relationships with the network host
  • Acting in relation to the sale of an equity interest in a radio station
  • Acting in a large number of business sales and purchases (including cross border transactions) and drafting the required contract documentation
  • Preparing a large number of bespoke contractual documents including shareholder agreements, franchise agreements, joint venture agreements, security sharing agreements

Dispute resolution

  • Acting in a landmark Court of Appeal case involving the status of liquidators under the PPSA
  • Acting for a quoted company in the Court of Appeal in complex litigation involving allegations of breach of contract and of the Fair Trading Act
  • Acting for The Country Channel (a Sky TV channel) in successfully appealing against a decision under the Domain Name Commission's dispute resolution policy, directing it to transfer its domain name thecountrychannel.co.nz to a UK based organisation also called The Country Channel
  • Acting for the principals in a complex commercial case involving allegations of breaches of an agency agreement, resulting in proceedings in the District Court and High Court and in an arbitration before a top local arbitrator
  • Advising and acting for liquidators of a syndicated property investment company in complex ongoing litigation involving allegations of breaches of directors’ duties
  • Acting for liquidators to obtain a High Court injunction to freeze bank accounts of a company related to the company in liquidation, pending investigations as to the suitability of a pooling application under the Companies Act
  • Advising and representing a major Australasian corporation in significant “leaky building” litigation, which also involved a range of insurance issues
  • Acting for principals, for contractors and for subcontractors in a wide range of construction and building defects disputes, involving litigation in the High Court and District Court, arbitrations and adjudications under the Construction Contracts Act 2002
  • Facilitating the resolution of shareholder disputes by means of formal and informal mediation

Insolvency and Restructuring

Advising and acting for insolvency practitioners on a regular basis on a wide range of issues, including:

  • The difficult interface between the PPSA and the Companies Act
  • The priority regime under the PPSA
  • The interpretation of security agreements
  • Directors’ duties
  • Evaluation of creditors’ contingent claims

Dealing with the large range of issues arising from the business failure of a company listed on the NZX including:

  • selling off business units as going concerns
  • helping to coordinate a creditor compromise in one of the operating subsidiaries
  • advising the directors on all matters relating to the business failure
  • dealing with compliance and regulatory issues, including obtaining necessary stock exchange waivers
  • applying to de-list the company
  • finally applying to court on behalf of the directors to place the company in liquidation

Advising a factoring company in relation to a range of issues arising from the business failure of one of its customers.

Arranged to sell a significant equity stake in a Central North Island group of companies to one of its secured creditors, secured roll-over funding from another major lender, thereby ensuring the continued existence of the group.

Employment

Providing advice and acting in relation to a range of employment-related issues, including:

  • Regularly advising employers on employment issues connected with restructuring of their businesses
  • Dealing with personal grievances and other employment disputes and problems, both for employers and for employees, including regularly attending employment mediations and appearing in the Employment Relations Authority

Successfully representing the employer in a landmark case involving allegations of workplace stress and bullying in the advertising and cosmetics industry.

Personal Services

  • Administering some very substantial, long-running estates
  • Wills, family trusts and estate planning
  • Relationship property agreements and property sharing agreements involving complex commercial structures and holdings
  • Dealing with family protection claims
  • Powers of attorney