Simpson Grierson advises clients across finance, healthcare, retail, and energy on emerging tech, including wearable devices, digital identity, and social media innovations. The TMT team is led by Karen Ngan, an expert in technology, telecoms, and data protection, with deep experience in launching and scaling new technologies. Jania Baigent focuses on media and cybersecurity disputes, while Ashton Walsh leads the firm’s strong sports law practice.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- ‘All the team we engage with are hugely responsive and professional. Our relationship is a true partnership, and as a not-for-profit, the partnership is respectful of our limitations and provides exceptional support, both in kind and in value.’
- ‘They demonstrate a genuine desire to understand their clients’ business in order to deliver maximum value. Their approach is practical, efficient, and solution-focused, ensuring recommendations can be implemented effectively.’
- ‘They combine knowledge, relevance, and innovation, providing advice that is both strategic and actionable. They have a strong understanding of sports law and IP rights, as well as deep insight into the New Zealand market.’
- ‘Our key relationships are Ashton Walsh and Richard Watts. From a sports law and IP perspective, they are deeply embedded and act as an extension of our wider commercial team. They share the same values and aspirations in supporting the New Zealand team to succeed, and this depth of alignment is highly valued.’
Key clients
- The a2 Milk Company Limited
- ASB
- BestStart Educare Limited
- Briscoe Group
- Bunnings (Wesfarmers Group)
- Counties Energy Limited
- Cubic Transportation Systems Limited
- Grizzly AI Limited
- Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora
- Tauranga City Council
- Transpower New Zealand Limited
- TruBridge, Inc.
- Tu Atea Limited
- Voyage Digital (2degrees)
- Xoria Limited
- Baseball New Zealand
- Golf New Zealand
- Gymnastics New Zealand
- Hockey New Zealand
- Las Vegas Raiders
Work highlights
Advising 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.
Advising Transpower, the owner of the national electricity grid in New Zealand, in connection with its TransGo Refresh programme being the refresh of its private telecommunications network that underpins all the network communications used by Transpower including those used for the provision of critical services.
Acted for NZOC in rights management and protection for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. This involved overseeing the entire rights protection (commercialisation) of brands, as well as enforcement of both NZ Team and Olympic properties throughout the Olympic Games.
Lawyers
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Practice head
Karen Ngan; Jania Baigent; Ashton Walsh
Other key lawyers
Michelle Dunlop; Richard Watts