Nick Frith > MinterEllisonRuddWatts > Auckland, New Zealand > Lawyer Profile

MinterEllisonRuddWatts
PWC TOWER, 15 CUSTOMS STREET WEST
PO BOX 105 249
AUCKLAND 1143
New Zealand

Work Department

Litigation and Dispute Resolution

Position

Partner

Career

Nick is a general commercial litigator focused on achieving strategically significant outcomes for clients across all dispute resolution processes.

He regularly acts for major banks, companies, boards of directors, shareholders, and insolvency practitioners on a range of disputes. He also represents insurers, global and boutique insurance brokers, and insureds (both independently and on instruction from insurers). His clients have included Aon, Marsh, Medical Assurance Society, Frank Risk and several Lloyd’s syndicates.

Nick advises on strategies to resolve disputes relating to distressed debt and company failures, including debt recovery and enforcement actions. He also has extensive experience in shareholder disputes, warranty claims, and other post-sale actions in M&A and other corporate transactions.

He has substantial expertise in defending negligence claims against brokers, advising on, negotiating, and litigating property damage and business interruption claims (both for insurers and insureds), and income protection insurance claims. He also assists with placement, and with coverage and claims disputes. Nick works closely with other practices within the firm on insurance-specific elements of major infrastructure projects and complex corporate transactions.

Languages

English

Memberships

Member, Restructuring Insolvency and Turnaround Association New Zealand Inc (RITANZ)

Member, New Zealand Insurance Law Association (NZILA)

Associate Member, The Australian and New Zealand

Member, Institute of Insurance and Finance Inc (ANZIIF)

Education

LLB (Hons), BCom, University of Auckland (2010)

Lawyer Rankings

New Zealand > Insurance

(Next Generation Partners)

Nick FrithMinterEllisonRuddWatts

MinterEllisonRuddWatts focuses on representing international underwriters, brokers and insureds on their claims against local and international insurers, advising on regulatory investigations, health insurance claims and broker negligence. Andrew Horne and Nick Frith are the key contacts in Auckland, with Frith being described as ‘someone you can trust to do a really spectacular job’ and Horne specialising in commercial disputes, corporate and regulatory issues, financial services insurance as well as matters in the cyber and technology fields.

New Zealand > Dispute resolution

(Next Generation Partners)

Nick FrithMinterEllisonRuddWatts

Well-regarded for its ‘wide range of knowledge’ and ability to ‘provide a solution to complex problems’, the team at MinterEllisonRuddWatts regularly acts on critical and high-profile commercial litigation for large corporates and financial institutions. The practice offers expertise across the full spectrum of commercial litigation matters, including banking, environmental, insolvency, technology, and insurance-related disputes. In Wellington, Richard Gordon, who is a key port of call to New Zealand’s main trading banks, jointly leads the practice alongside Auckland-based Gillian Service, who specialises in people risk management for businesses. The ‘very acute and intelligent’ Jane Standage is regularly instructed on some of New Zealand’s most complex litigation and is lauded by clients for her ‘excellent judgement’. Andrew Horne is noted for his expertise in commercial disputes, corporate and regulatory issues, and technology-related disputes, while the ‘outstanding’ Stacey Shortall is frequently instructed to conduct internal reviews and self-assessments for clients and their boards. Nick Frith is another key contact, recommended for his focus on insurance disputes across all areas of the industry. Senior associate Olivia De Pont is also recommended.