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
DIRECT DIAL
+64 4 499 4051
FAX
+64 4 915 9029
MOBILE
+64 21 467 475
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.