Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Expertise

We have extensive experience in commercial litigation, and our lawyers appear at all levels of the New Zealand courts. We work closely with the independent bar and have strong professional relationships with many of New Zealand’s leading barristers. 

We are experts at advising on contentious intellectual property, confidential information, and defamation matters.

We also advise on complex regulatory investigations, and on highly sensitive privacy, data governance, and cybersecurity issues. We excel at reputation management and the discrete resolution of confidential matters.

Our lawyers are experienced in alternative dispute resolution and regularly represent clients in mediations and arbitrations.

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Experience

• Advising a global virtual production company on a shareholders’ dispute involving allegations of breaches of director’s duties, malicious falsehood, actions prejudicing other shareholders and breach of confidence.
• Advising a US-based high net-worth individual in a shareholder dispute as part of the proposed sale of a visual effects company.
• Advising a leading SAP solutions provider in a dispute with a major professional services firm relating to the roll-out of HR software for a government agency.
• Acting for a major New Zealand telecommunications operator in relation to an investigation and charges alleging breach of the Fair Trading Act 1986 in an advertising campaign.
• Advising a state-owned organisation in relation to a failed EAM solution implementation.
• Acting for a boutique manufacturer and its director defending a claim brought by a large New Zealand carpet and flooring company alleging breach of confidence and breach of contract.
• Acting for a major energy company in proceedings challenging another energy provider’s use of a colour mark for electricity retail and supply services.
• Acting for the designers, manufacturers, and distributors of high-end outdoor furniture in intellectual property infringement proceedings against a local furniture retailer that had copied a substantial part of its range of outdoor furniture items.
• Acting for a global electric vehicle manufacturer defending an appeal to the courts from a specialist tribunal in a product liability and consumer protection claim.
• Acting for a leading Australasian music rights management organisation in relation to the enforcement of music copyright.
• Acting for housing developers in High Court copyright infringement litigation relating to heritage style features used in the design of townhouses.
• Acting for a global video management platform against a government entity seeking to enforce take down orders relating to content hosted on its platform.
• Acting for a Japanese sporting goods manufacturer and retailer in an appeal to the High Court in relation to a trade mark non-use revocation action.
• Assisting the organisers of a major international sporting tournament with IP enforcement activities during a global football event co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia.