‘The team is very personable and has widespread capability. There is excellent contact either via phone, email or in person. The team is never hard to get hold of. It has excellent drafting skills and requisite knowledge of the law and associated risks. They will work with you and take up as much or as little of the brief as you require, they do not dominate or try to squeeze extra legal fees. They are very professional and brilliant to deal with.’

‘Allan Yeoman is always available when needed; his turnaround of work is incredibly quick and efficient but he never compromises on quality. He is an excellent drafter in both amending existing agreements and creating bespoke agreements. He has excellent knowledge of subject matter which can be difficult and full of acronyms and technological jargon, yet he gets to the heart of the subject matter quickly and with ease. He has foresight in risks around particular options. He is very personable but obviously very smart. He thinks outside the box and is creative in his problem solving.’

‘Timely and efficient. Philip Wood is excellent.’

‘Buddle Findlay always provides pragmatic advice that helps guide us to make fully informed decisions. They are easy to work with, striking a great balance between advising from a legal and commercial perspective.’

‘They are experts in the TMT space that add real recognisable value to our negotiations with suppliers.’

‘The firm is an absolute specialist in its targeted areas of TMT, digital, IP law and so on. They are responsive, keen, and compare well to large firms regarding fees.’

‘Andrew Dentice is a market-leading expert in NZ open banking. He has good knowledge of payments from working at Visa. He is happy to work through a problem and talk things over, which is important for new innovations. Good communication.’

‘Hudson Gavin Martin have been nothing but exceptional in their handling of our legal matters. It is rare to feel as though an external provider forms part of your internal team. The partners and associates at Hudson Gavin Martin have gone out of their way to support us as our journey has progressed from start-up to small business. Regardless of the need, be it corporate or commercial, IP or deeply technical, the team at HGM have demonstrated excellence.’

‘We have mainly worked with Andrew Dentice who has been a phenomenal asset to us. It is Andrew’s understanding of our s position and his sharing of and belief in our vision that makes the difference. At no stage do you feel like the engagement with Andrew is transactional, which I have felt with other legal services before. It is the personal touch, the real interest in our business and the deep subject matter expertise that makes Andrew exceptional. Andrew has our best interest at heart and this is evident with each consultation and his willingness to work within our means.’

‘We have also had the pleasure of working with special counsel Sarah-Jane Lawson, who was responsible for setting up the company’s legal framework. Sarah-Jane has expertise in corporate and commercial law combined with her ability to uncover and communicate what is needed and important is what makes Sarah-Jane unique. As we grew and continue to grow we know that we require legal assistance that spans from start-up to enterprise. Sarah-Jane is someone you want in your corner when your business starts to scale.’

‘Genuine technology specialists working at the frontier of issues. Great specialism and knowledge. Very user-friendly. They are great at flexing the resource and approach to match the value and importance of what they’re working on. leading individuals who offer a great perspective on broader market and technology context. Huge value-add on anything that is novel, difficult or untried before.’

‘Simon Martin is very accessible and user-friendly. He offers huge experience and rich perspective on any matter he’s involved with. A great communicator who plays well with internal business clients. Great on everything from full engagement end to end through to quick query sense check.’

‘Edwin Lim is a great operator. He provides sound and reliable judgment. Good balancing of risk and opportunity. Very outcome and results-focused.’

‘Lisa Paz is a great addition to the team with solid in-house experience that shows up in lawyering style and approach.’

‘Anderson Lloyd is a firm that believes in that extra personal touch. The firm is excellent with communication and the guidance I have received has been, in my opinion, second to none. I work between the USA and Auckland and there is no comparison between the two. They have fantastic contacts that have benefited my company immensely and they always add value. Anderson Lloyd is THE firm to use of you have a start-up.’

‘Derek Roth-Biester and Megan Pearce are not just my attorneys, they have become mentors and valuable extensions from my own company. Having a start-up can be disorientating and their valuable expertise has been detrimental in building my company’s foundation from the ground up. I can’t recommend them both highly enough.’

‘They have an extremely strong team here in Queenstown, with a wide range of expertise. They have also used other branches to assist in specific areas of work that was needed. In regards to value for money, AL have been extremely fair and clear about costs. Taking into account we are an early-stage business, they were happy to reduce fees in certain areas possible – a quality which is not consistent in other firms. Following this, they have provided us with special measures such as payment plans for any legal work done. AL have also been happy to answer any brief questions I may have had, with Derek Roth-Biester in particular being happy for me to call him at any given time, which is always followed by advice and recommendations I can only describe as perfect so far.’

‘Derek Roth-Biester has been my main point of contact throughout my time working with AL. His strengths from what I have found are his broad knowledge in work needed when developing a start-up business, particular a SaaS businesses. If there was a specific question or task I have asked of him, he has not only answered it but explained his point of view in relation to a wide range of potential scenarios – a quality which has not only been impressive, but integral in the developing of our business. He is also very personable and has made us feel welcome and well looked after throughout. At this point, I wouldn’t say I have identified ir experienced any weaknesses to date and from my dealing with him so far, I doubt I will in the near future.’

‘Peter Fernando is a Senior Associate in Duncan Cotterill’s ICT team. I worked with Peter in his role as a Senior Associate at his previous firm. What stood out for me about Peter is how quickly he got to grips with the complex document automation we were developing together for Peter’s client. Peter was responsible for the legal drafting, while our company was doing the automation. Peter’s sharp intellect and inquiring mind meant he quickly understood how his drafting needed to fit with the technology.’

‘Peter Fernando was  at the forefront of his previous firm’s use of artificial intelligence for contract review, and had clearly made a significant effort to understand how it worked, and how it could benefit him and his clients. Peter is one of the few ICT lawyers I’ve come across who actually likes to use technology himself. As well as having an excellent legal mind and a great personal manner, he makes an effort to understand how the technology works, and how it can help him and his clients. Despite having recently moved to a new firm in a new city, I expect he will rapidly gain recognition as a leader in TMT legal work and will drive his team’s success in this area.’

‘We have instructed Michael Moyes at Duncan Cotterill on a number of high-value IT procurement matters in the last 12 months. He strikes a good balance between detail and commercial pragmatism.’

‘Michael Moyes provides excellent, commercially-focused advice. We trust his judgment and he compares very favourably to other TMT counsel that we have seen across the market.’

‘Exceptional service provided by Peter Fernando – professional, thoroughly reseached and prompt. Peter’s expertise is utilised across policy, privacy and technological areas of our business. He is highly trusted and respected by internal and external stakeholders alike.’

‘Very approachable, very responsive. pleasant friendly and nothing is too easy or too hard. Peter Fernando is my contact point. I value that I am never made to feel that my limited knowledge on some legal or commercial issues is apparent. My views and input are always received well and feedback is always respectful. I appreciate Peter’s ability to articulate situations back to me in a language that I can understand with cause and effect.’