AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Banking and Finance, Securities Law, Insolvency, Company / Commercial / Shareholder disputes, Ethics, Prosecution / Tribunal / Professional Standards, Government / regulatory compliance, Sports Law (acting for sports organisations / players / athletics), Health and Safety, Coroners Inquiries, Judicial Review, Trusts / Estate litigation, Commercial Property, Intellectual Property, Professional liability / negligence, Injunctions, Infrastructure and roading, Mediation / Arbitration, Insurance
Paul is an experienced commercial litigation lawyer. He has been in practice since 1988. He has been instructed as counsel on leading and reported New Zealand cases. Paul has a wide ranging commercial litigation practice and regularly appears in Court. Paul also specialises in insolvency law. He acts for banks, leading New Zealand insolvency practitioners, receivers/liquidators and corporates. He is regularly instructed by the Official Assignee. Paul is also actively involved in wide ranging Tribunal/Professional disciplinary legal work.
Prior to commencing as barrister sole in 2009, Paul was a commercial partner for twelve years at Gibson Sheat, where he headed the firm’s litigation department.
- Instructed counsel for Pugh / Barry interests in the long running David Tua boxing litigation.
- Instructed counsel for a large multinational dairy and food company on its restructure of its distribution network.
- Instructed counsel for a port company in complex litigation in relation to port activities, judicial review, related legislation and arbitration.
- Instructed counsel on cases involving finance company litigation/collapse.
- Instructed counsel for the Official Assignee on high profile bankruptcy cases.
- Instructed counsel for national roading contractors on cases involving health and safety/roading issues including fatalities and coroner’s inquiries.
- Reviewer of complaints and complaint procedure for the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants.
- Prosecutor for The Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board.
- Prosecutor for The Electrical Workers Registration Board of New Zealand.
- Instructed counsel for case reviews for Energy Safety.
- Instructed counsel for a rail company on commercial litigation cases arising on the rail network.
- Instructed counsel on cases involving large scale corporate receiverships, liquidations and insolvencies.
- Instructed counsel on cases involving commercial property disputes / arbitrations.
- Instructed counsel on cases involving directors’ duties, Securities Act compliance, shareholder disputes and Companies Act 1993.
- Instructed counsel on complex trust issues.
- Instructed counsel on cases involving farm ownership and succession disputes
- Prior member of New Zealand Law Society District Court Rules Committee.
- Prior member of the Wellington Law Society Courts Committee.
- Presenter to National conferences and New Zealand Law Society seminars.