Simpson Grierson's litigation team handles complex disputes for both government and private clients. Nina Blomfield leads the national litigation practice group, advising on financial markets, shareholder disputes, class actions, and regulatory matters. Jania Baigent specialises in privacy, media, IT, and product liability disputes, often in urgent or cross-border matters. Sally McKechnie heads the government-facing public law practice, providing strategic advice on regulatory disputes and judicial review. Nicky Hall focuses on property, commercial, and trust disputes, as well as designing bespoke dispute resolution programmes. Nick Chapman was promoted to partner in 2025. Helen Smith departed in 2024, and John Shackleton retired the same year.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'The team are experts in this area but have a very key skill, that being the ability to distill complex legal issues into easy-to-understand language for non-legal professionals. Sounds simple but is quite rare.'
- 'They are pragmatic and help us to fully understand legal risk and the call off in commerciality opportunities and challenges. Nina Blomfield and Andrew Matthews are exceptional and viewed as an extension of our internal team.'
Key clients
- The a2 Milk Company Limited
- bp Oil New Zealand Limited
- Briscoe Group Limited and Briscoes (New Zealand) Limited
- Financial Markets Authority
- Kāinga Ora and Housing New Zealand Build Limited
- Malcolm Keefe and Honourable John Moore AO (as Former Directors of Arowana International Limited)
- New Zealand Forest Owners Association, New Zealand Institute of Forestry, Ngā Pou a Tāne, Climate Forestry Association
- OMV New Zealand
- Ricegrowers Limited
- TruBridge, Inc
Work highlights
Acting for the Financial Markets Authority in a case on continuous disclosure, having obtained declarations of contravention against the former chief financial officer of former NZX-listed CBL Corporation Limited after earlier obtaining admissions from and pecuniary penalty orders against the company and five of its directors.
Representing Health New Zealand (Te Whatu Ora), New Zealand’s public health service, in responding to a significant data breach involving the national vaccination database, including obtaining injunctive relief and take down orders preventing further publication or sharing of the breached data.
Defending the former non-executive directors (including the chair) of ASX-listed Arowana International against a shareholder class action alleging misleading statements and omissions at the time of the initial public offering of subsidiary Intueri Education Group.
Lawyers
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Next Generation Partners
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.
Practice head
Nina Blomfield
Other key lawyers
Jania Baigent; Sally McKechnie; Nick Chapman; Andrew Matthews