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Tom Bennett
Tom Bennett
+64 9 916 8789
Bell Gully
James Gibson
James Gibson
+64 9 916 8962
Bell Gully
Brynn Gilbertson
Brynn Gilbertson
+64 9 916 8948
Bell Gully
Gavin Macdonald
Gavin Macdonald
+64 9 916 8938
Bell Gully
Rob Towner
Rob Towner
+64 9 916 8902
Bell Gully
David McPherson
David McPherson
+64 9 916 8988
Bell Gully

Overview

A handful of full-service firms, namely Bell Gully, Buddle Findlay, Chapman Tripp, Kensington Swan, Minter Ellison Rudd Watts, Russell McVeagh and Simpson Grierson, dominate much of the New Zealand legal market due to their diverse resources and coverage of the North and South Islands.

Firms report that the economic downturn has had a significant impact on the amount of work available in the financial and corporate sectors. But as a direct result, firms reported an increase in other types of work they were called upon to do, noting in particular an increase in complex and innovative restructuring. Also, although the debt capital markets have slightly fallen away, a sign of a particularly strong firm in the banking and finance arena is that it has managed to sustain its private equity practice despite the scarce supply.

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Press releases

The latest news direct from law firms. If you would like to submit press releases for your firm, send an email request to

Legal Developments worldwide

Legal Developments and updates from the leading lawyers in each jurisdiction. To contribute, send an email request to

  • Boult Wade Tennant partner to speak at Management Forum’s Trademark Administrator conference

    Felicity Hide, a partner in Boult Wade Tennant’s Trade Mark and Domain Name Group, will be speaking at the Management Forum’s Trademark Administrator conference on 28 October 2010 at the Rembrandt Hotel in London.
    - Boult Wade Tennant

  • THE NEW PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP LEGISLATION IS ADOPTED IN UKRAINE

    On 26 July the President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych signed the Law “On the Foundations of Cooperation of the State with Private Partners” (the “Law”) which was adopted by the Ukrainian Parliament on 1 July to establish a framework for public-private partnership (“PPP”) in Ukraine. In May 2009 the Parliament already adopted the framework law on PPP, which, however, was later set aside.
    - Avellum Partners

  • Employers’ age discrimination of under-18s legal

    On 30 June 2010, the Danish Eastern High Court established that the provisions and the practice on a number of areas covered by collective agreements, supporting a lower pay for employees under 18 years and termination of the employees when they turn 18, cannot be deemed to constitute a violation of the Employment Equality Directive (Directive 2000/78/EC of 27 November 2000).
    - Norrbom Vinding Law Firm, member of ius laboris

  • Danish Holiday Act amended

    The Danish Ministry of Employment wants to stop employees speculating in having their holiday pay paid out. This has resulted in an amendment of the Danish Holiday Act.
    - Norrbom Vinding Law Firm, member of ius laboris

  • ”Honey” was not sexual harassment

    Close physical contact and calling an employee “honey" was not enough to prove that a manager had sexually harassed an employee.
    - Norrbom Vinding Law Firm, member of ius laboris

  • Doubt about how to interpret part-time leave agreement

    The Danish Board of Equal Treatment was not satisfied that an employer’s interpretation of an agreement about part-time leave was in breach of the Danish Act on Equal Treatment of Men and Women.
    - Norrbom Vinding Law Firm, member of ius laboris

  • Part-time and fixed-term employment in the EU

    Three provisions of Austrian law about part-time and fixed-term employment met with opposition at the European Court of Justice – they were held to be at odds with EU law.
    - Norrbom Vinding Law Firm, member of ius laboris

  • Public-sector managers, too, are entitled to freedom of speech

    The Danish Parliamentary Ombudsman has established once again that public-sector employees enjoy a high degree of freedom of speech.
    - Norrbom Vinding Law Firm, member of ius laboris

  • Wikborg Rein newsletter: Paying for pirates

    Background: Attacks by Somali pirates are still commonplace and the fall-out from kidnappings of individuals and seizures of ships by pirates are still being dealt with by insurance companies, P&I clubs, arbitration tribunals, courts of law and national governments.
    - Wikborg Rein

  • Friendlier Norwegian hedge funds regulations in force

    FRIENDLIER NORWEGIAN HEGDE FUNDS REGULATIONS IN FORCE July 2010 sees friendlier Norwegian hedge funds regulations entering into force – at last. New regulations lift the previous general marketing ban, implying that marketing licences shall now be obtainable.
    - Wikborg Rein

Press releases

The latest news direct from law firms. If you would like to submit press releases for your firm, send an email request to

  • Restriction of Directors in Irish law – a recent development

    A recent Supreme Court decision has offered some insight into the law on the restriction of company directors by the Courts. The decision is particularly helpful as it addresses the differing roles of executive and non-executive directors, the type of conduct which will be classed as “irresponsible” in the conduct of the affairs of a company in financial difficulty and the need for the law to apply to the particular circumstances at issue.
    – Hayes Solicitors

  • WKB – lead advisor to the investment of LNG Terminal in Swinoujscie

    The agreement for construction of LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) Terminal in Swinoujscie was signed on 15th July in Warsaw. WKB Wiercinski, Kwiecinski, Baehr was the main advisor in all stages of this voluminous PLN 3 billion investment. The State Treasury Minister, Aleksander Grad, representatives of GAZ-SYSTEM SA and Polskie LNG, as well as WKB lawyers attended the signing ceremony. The following WKB lawyers were involved in the project as advisors: advocate and partner Jan Rolinski, advocate and partner Bartlomiej Jankowski, and legal counsel Anna Flaga-Martynek.
    – WKB Wiercinski, Kwiecinski, Baehr Sp. k.

  • Paksoy acted for joint lead managers this transaction involving Akbank, Turkey's largest lender

    Akbank, Turkey's largest lender by market value, borrowed $1 billion in a five-year RegS/144A bond issue.  Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citibank, JPMorgan and Standard Chartered were the joint lead managers for the issue.
    – Paksoy

  • New law firm in Luxembourg

    As of March 1, 2010 and following a split is born Linari Law Firm. The firm’s contact details are:
    – Linari Law Firm

  • Wildgen elected new Partner, Director and Senior Associates

    Wildgen, Partners in Law, a leading Luxembourg corporate law firm, elected Daniel Boone to partnership and announces the appointment of a Director and five Senior Associates.
    – Wildgen

  • Wildgen, Partners in Law to receive two new Awards

    Luxembourg, 14 June 2010 – Wildgen, one of the most renowned law firms in Luxembourg, is delighted to announce that it has been awarded “Benelux Re-insurance Law Firm of the Year” and “Benelux Sharia Law Firm of the Year”.
    – Wildgen

  • LEXENCE BENOEMT MARK KEUSS TOT BESTUURDER

    Amsterdam, 29 juni 2010 - Met ingang van 1 juli is mr. Mark Keuss benoemd tot lid van het dagelijks bestuur van Lexence voor een periode van drie jaar. Keuss volgt mr. Menno van Groningen op die terugtreedt na het verstrijken van zijn zittingsperiode.
    – Lexence

  • Hengeler Muelelr advises SANYO on sale of global semiconductor business

    Japan' SANYO Electric Co., Ltd. (Osaka) has sold its global semiconductor business to the US company ON Semiconductor Corporation, Phoenix (Arizona). The transaction is subject to various closing conditions and regulatory approvals, such as clearance by merger control authorities.
    – Hengeler Mueller

  • Hengeler Mueller advises Henkel on joint venture with BASF

    Henkel AG & Co. KGaA and BASF have signed a joint venture agreement to develop innovative corrosion protection solutions for the automotive industry.
    – Hengeler Mueller

  • Salans Swoops In On Elite Real Estate Team

    Salans has announced that one of the most recognisable names in real estate in Central Europe, Pawel Debowski, plans to join forces with Salans, a power-house in the real estate arena and one of the top international legal practices in Central and Eastern Europe. Debowski is rated as a “Band Star” by Chambers Europe who commented that “…observers are generally in awe of (his) outstanding outfit.”
    – Salans
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