Services

• Drafting and advising on building contractsClaims under the parties’ contract (eg price, time for completion or variations)
• Claims arising from breach of contract (eg performance or defective work, non-payment by owners or head contractors)
• Claims involving professionals or trades arising from breach of duty of care or breach of statute
• Weathertightness issues
• Claims and issues arising under the Construction Contracts Act (including adjudication)
• Claims and issues arising under relevant building statutes

Building & Construction Law

• Contractual disputes
• Insurance law problems
• Debt collection or debt recovery
• Company insolvency and bankruptcy advice
• Injunctions
• Making claims for personal remedies (eg under the Harassment Act)
• Health and safety advice and prosecutions
• Challenging decisions of Government and official organisations
• Copyright and trademark disputes
• Consumer protection matters

Business and Personal Litigation and Dispute Resolution

• Commercial contracts
• Business sales and purchases
• Business ventures
• Commercial leases
• Financing
• Franchises
• Company formation

Business Law

• Defending court prosecutions brought by the police
• Representing you in prosecutions by local authorities or Government departments, such as the Customs Service, Immigration New Zealand or Inland Revenue
• Making applications for a discharge without conviction, if appropriate
• Appeals against sentence or conviction
• Drug offences and rehabilitation
• Diversion
• Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigations

Criminal Law

• Enduring Powers of Attorney
• Estate Administration and Litigation
• Family Trusts
• Wills

Elder Law & Estates

• Drafting and reviewing employment agreements
• Personal grievances
• Restructuring and redundancies
• Wages or pay disputes
• Health and safety obligations, including prosecutions
• Privacy Act requirements and breaches
• Human rights obligations and breaches
• Restraints of trade

Employment Law

• Resource consent process
• Breaches and interpretation of council plans
• Submissions on plan changes
• Enforcement procedures under the Resource Management Act (RMA)
• Designation processes
• Environment court proceedings, including mediation and court hearings
• Advising on your rights as an ‘affected person’ in relation to applications

Environmental & Resource Management Law

• Protecting your property through a prenuptial/contracting out agreement
• Relationship/matrimonial property division
• Adoption
• Custody/parenting arrangements for children
• Child support
• Guardianship issues
• Orders preventing removal of a child
• Paternity
• Dissolution/divorce
• Domestic violence

Family Law

• Advising on your health and safety obligations
• Reviewing your operational procedures, audit and reporting processes
• Developing health and safety compliance plans
• Assisting you in handling WorkSafe NZ investigations if an incident does occur
• Managing and defending prosecutions in the district and high court
• Advising on one-off health and safety issues

Health & Safety Law

• Lodging your initial application for a Visa (all categories)
• Filing appeals to the Immigration and Protection Tribunal
• Applying for Judicial Review to the High Court

Immigration Law

• Prenuptial/contracting out agreements
• Matrimonial property/relationship property division

Matrimonial & Relationship Property Law

• Acting as your mediator
• Attending the mediation with you as your lawyer
• Advising you prior to mediation, if you are attending without a lawyer (eg Family Dispute Resolution), to ensure that you fully understand the process and to discuss strategy and possible solutions with you

Mediation

• Providing a Notary Public if required for witnessing signatures on legal documents, administering oaths and certifying the authenticity of legal documents (usually for documentation required overseas)

Notary Public

• Buying or selling a residential property
• Buying or selling a rural or lifestyle property
• Commercial sales and purchases
• Mortgages and refinancing
• Subdivisions

Property Law

• Buying and selling of farms, orchards and horticultural operations
• Rural dispute resolution (negotiation, facilitation and mediation)
• Rural financing
• Rural employment issues
• Succession planning
• Sharemilker agreements
• Equity partnerships and joint ventures
• Rural leases and grazing agreements
• Resource management issues

Rural Law

• Careless, dangerous or reckless driving charges
• ‘Boy racer’ charges
• Drink drive offences
• Driving whilst disqualified charges
• Road user and other regulatory infringements
• Avoiding disqualification for special reasons
• Alternative sentencing options
• Limited or work licences for driving if you are disqualified

Traffic Law

• Advising on and drafting your Trust Deed and associated documents
• Administration of Trusts
• Variations, re-settlements and interpretation of Trust Deeds
• Duties of Trustees
• Rights of beneficiaries
• Advising on the use of Trusts as a vehicle for asset protection and succession planning
• The interface between matrimonial relationship property claims and Trusts
• How to draft and structure Wills to enable your Trust vehicle to be effective
• Managing disputes and conducting litigation involving Trusts

Trusts

• Drafting a new Will
• Amending your existing Will
• Preparing mirror or mutual Wills with your spouse or partner as appropriate
• Discussing possible claims that could be made against your Estate, and how this may affect what is in your Will
• Applications for validation of informal or non-compliant Will under the Wills Act 2007

Wills