The Legal 500

Within Banking and finance, Minter Ellison is a second tier firm,

Minter Ellison Rudd Watts’ banking and finance team is ‘exceptionally responsive’, ‘well versed in the sector and stable’. Chris O’Brien advised on the NZ$1.8bn Treasury guarantee of South Canterbury Finance Limited, while the ‘knowledgeable and reliable’ Kate Lane acted for KfW IPEX - Bank GmbH on financing aircraft for Air Lease Corporation to be leased to Air New Zealand. Other recent clients include Synlait Milk, Affinity Equity Partners, and PSIS.

Within Corporate and M&A, Minter Ellison is a second tier firm,

Minter Ellison Rudd Watts picked up significant new panel appointments with AMP and Vector as well as new international client gains. Cathy Quinn acted for the Agria Corporation and New Hope Group Co on a NZ$141m partial takeover offer in respect of a further stake in PGG Wrightson Limited. Mark Stuart advised Affinity Equity Partners on its $600m acquisition of Tegel Foods.

Within Dispute resolution, Minter Ellison is a second tier firm,

Minter Ellison Rudd Watts is ‘up with the best for day-to-day matters’. Mark Sandelin is ‘proactive and easy to deal with’, and Sean Gollin is ‘extremely thorough’. Gollin acted for KordaMentha in the biggest case to date under the Personal Property Securites Act, involving assets of up to NZ$15m. The firm gained new clients AUT University and Specsavers, and was appointed to panels of HSBC, Chartis Insurance and Siemens.

Within Employment, Minter Ellison is a second tier firm,

The team at Minter Ellison Rudd Watts provides ‘high-quality advice’ and is led by Megan Richards, whose ‘professional service’ combines ‘sound advice and well-thought-through strategy’. Clients include multinationals, government departments and Crown entities. The firm has picked up a number of significant new clients as well as being appointed to the Accident Compensation Corporation and Serious Fraud Office panels.

Within Intellectual property, Minter Ellison is a second tier firm,

Minter Ellison Rudd Watts demonstrates a ‘real interest and willingness to engage in and understand the client’s industry’. Recent work includes acting for Icebreaker Limited on strategy and management matters, and advising the De Beers Group. Christopher Young has ‘excellent technical expertise and commercial judgement’.

Within Projects and resource management, Minter Ellison is a third tier firm,

Sarah Sinclair, formerly general counsel at Genesis Energy, and Mark Crosbie have joined the team at Minter Ellison Rudd Watts. The firm recently acted for Opepe Farm Trust in relation to Contact Energy’s Tauhara II geothermal power station proposal, and for the NZ Historic Places Trust in relation to the Hauauru ma raki Waikato wind farm project.

Within Real estate and construction, Minter Ellison is a first tier firm,

Minter Ellison Rudd Watts has the ‘resources available to get the job done’. It recently welcomed Mark Crosbie, and promoted Patricia Green and Kate Healy to partner. Work highlights included KordaMentha’s NZ$300m plus Kawarau Falls (Queenstown) development, and acting for AMP New Zealand Office Trust in its NZ$70m refurbishment and leasing project.

Within Restructuring and insolvency, Minter Ellison is a second tier firm,

Minter Ellison Rudd Watts is ‘extremely good all round’, with Sean Gollin noted as ‘extremely thorough and proven in insolvency litigation’. The firm enjoys a close relationship with KordaMentha, and is involved in significant receiverships such as Crafar Farms, the Kawarau Falls Station development, and Grasshopper Farms Limited. Other active key clients include McGrathNicol, Grant Thornton, BDO, Westpac and Rabobank. The firm picked up a panel appointment with HSBC. Stacey Shortall joined the firm from Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP in New York.

Within Tax, Minter Ellison is a second tier firm,

Minter Ellison Rudd Watts offers a co-ordinated Australian tax presence and can lay claim to one of the country’s largest private equity practices. Significant recent client gains include MOVAC, Axis Specialty Insurance, and QBE Insurance. The firm won a panel appointment with Siemens, and other active panel memberships include Westpac Banking Corporation, Westpac New Zealand Limited, Bank of New Zealand, ANZ National Bank Limited, AMP Group and UDC Finance. John Peterson is recommended.