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Litigation & dispute resolution

Protecting your reputation and financial position through good judgement and strong advocacy

In the current landscape businesses face risk in many forms and without proactive risk management, a small issue could become a complex dispute impacting your whole business.

We help you avoid costly disputes by providing commercial, practical advice on managing key risks. By working with you when things are going well, we can reduce the likelihood of things going wrong down the track.

We have a strong track record before all levels of the court system and across the full range of dispute resolution mechanisms. No matter the nature of your dispute we will have a subject matter expert who can help – working closely with you to ensure the litigation process is managed in the most efficient and cost effective way, and with regular and open communication. We break the litigation process down into well-scoped stages and allocate appropriate resources accordingly – keeping your costs down and making sure key risks and issues are flagged early.

Our internationally recognised and skilled practitioners are at the forefront of dispute resolution, acting on New Zealand’s most significant commercial disputes and advising on:

  • corporate/commercial disputes of all kinds
  • competition
  • property and construction
  • energy, oil and gas
  • public law and disputes affecting Māori
  • intellectual property and media
  • banking and financial services
  • employment law.

Some of our recent notable highlights include advising:

  • Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, on its New Zealand response to an international patent litigation against Resmed (another global NYSE-listed medical equipment company)
  • Philip Morris, the world’s leading tobacco company, in a significant antitrust claim against global number two tobacco company, British American Tobacco
  • BlueScope Steel in defending a $506m claim relating to the sale of the Taharoa Ironsands mine
  • Mercury in litigation against the Commissioner of Inland Revenue
  • Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Trust in a complex judicial review proceeding involving the interplay of customary rights and the statutory settlement processes for historical grievances against indigenous tribes
  • Motion Picture Association of America in a range of copyright and asset freeze matters in New Zealand
  • Facebook New Zealand on matters arising from the 15 March 2019 Christchurch terrorist attack
  • New Zealand Steel in a successful judicial review of a Minister’s decision not to impose countervailing duties on Chinese steel imports (this decision is presently under appeal)
  • L&M Coal Holdings Limited in one of the most significant recent contractual disputes before the New Zealand Supreme Court.
Ranked Tier One for dispute resolution.Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2024 | Chambers Asia Pacific 2024 | Chambers Global 2024

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