The Legal 500

The firm

Russell McVeagh was established in Auckland in 1863, making it one of New Zealand’s most long established legal practices. The firm has always had a focus on business law, banking and finance property/real estate and litigation. The firm currently operates specialty practice areas including corporate and commercial, building and construction law and infrastructure, general litigation, insurance, property, finance, employment, technology, intellectual property, environment and resource management, taxation, Maori Legal, and government and public law. The firm acts for New Zealand’s leading listed companies, including all retail banks, many energy companies, and multi-national corporations, as well as major utilities, infrastructure companies, manufacturers, primary producers, and state sector organisations. It is highly experienced in the management of complex legal projects, and have been engaged in many of New Zealand’s most significant commercial and state sector transactions.

Areas of practice

Corporate advisory: it advises clients on: mergers and acquisitions; insolvency and debt restructuring and business reorganisations; funds management; infrastructure and projects; private equity and venture capital; capital markets/securities offerings including public listings and public offers of securities; privatisation and public private partnerships; structuring joint ventures and other commercial arrangements; outsourcing; investment in New Zealand by overseas entities; compliance and corporate governance; and general commercial law.

Competition: the team has expertise in all elements of competition and regulatory law, including advice, clearances and authorisations of mergers and conduct (non-contentious matters) and investigations, prosecutions and appeals of New Zealand’s Commerce Commission decisions (contentious matters). The team acts for clients across a variety of industry sectors including: financial services, aviation, electricity, gas, telecommunications, dairy, retail, food, manufacturing, forestry, and pharmaceuticals.

Finance: the team has considerable experience across all areas of finance, with particular expertise in structured, project and infrastructure, and venture capital financing, securitisation, derivatives, bank loan financing, and financial services regulatory advice. The team also advises with respect to insolvency and restructuring.

Litigation: the firm's advocates have extensive experience in appearing before the courts (at all levels), appearing in arbitrations and mediations, assisting with negotiation, and consultation with Parliament.

Property: Russell McVeagh has the largest property practice in the country, with unequalled depth of property experience, advising on a full range of commercial property work including: the acquisition, development and disposal of major retail and industrial assets, all aspects of commercial leasing; the acquisition, sale and management of Forestry; joint venture projects; major subdivisions; and foreign investment in New Zealand

Public law and policy: it operates a dedicated national practice that extends across administrative, regulatory and constitutional law, legislative compliance, competition and regulatory law, and public law litigation to policy development and government relations management.

Resource management: the team has a wide range of experience in all areas of resource management law. The team has particular experience in large scale infrastructure work, energy (thermal, hydro and wind generation projects, and oil and gas exploration and development), coastal (reclamations, commercial port and marina developments, and aquaculture), large-scale retail developments, dairy, forestry, quarrying, and petroleum retailing.

Tax: the team’s experience includes advising on tax issues relating to mergers and acquisitions, business establishment and reorganisations, initial public offerings, funds management, insolvency and work-outs, financing and debt/equity capital-raisings, and property transactions.

Languages
Cantonese
Dutch
French
German
Greek
Gujarati
Hebrew
Icelandic
Italian
Japanese
Latin
Mandarin
Maori
Russian
Samoan
Spanish
Swiss German
Vietnamese

Other offices
Auckland
Wellington

Number of lawyers 218

at this office 158