COVER FEATURE / HOT LIST 2014 NZLAWYERMAGAZINE.CO.NZ HOT LIST BREAKDOWN 2014 HOT LIST FIRMS WITH MOST HOT LIST LAWYERS RUSSELL MCVEAGH – 7 SIMPSON GRIERSON – 3 ANDREW BUTLER RUSSELL MCVEAGH CHAPMAN TRIPP – 6 MINTER ELLISON RUDD WATTS – 3 ANDREW HARMOS HARMOS HORTON LUSK BELL GULLY – 4 WYNN WILLIAMS – 2 BRYNN GILBERTSON BELL GULLY BARRY BROWN CHAPMAN TRIPP GENDER SPLIT WHERE THEY CATHY QUINN MINTER ELLISON RUDD WATTS PRACTICE 27 Male lawyers 1 DAVE WETHERELL MAYNE WETHERELL Auckland 27 30 Wellington 6 GAVIN MACDONALD BELL GULLY Christchurch 3 GEOF SHIRTCLIFFE CHAPMAN TRIPP Tauranga 1 GRAEME QUIGLEY RUSSELL MCVEAGH Dunedin 1 6 GRANT DUNN BUDDLE FINDLAY 3 GRANT KEMBLE RUSSELL MCVEAGH Female lawyers HAYDEN WILSON KENSINGTON SWAN 1 8 JARED ORMSBY WYNN WILLIAMS JASON ROGERS JAMES & WELLS HOT LISTWho’s on the big deals? MOST COMMON AREAS OF SPECIALISATION (self-identified) JEFFREY LAI ANDERSON CREAGH LAI Who’s the talk of the town? M&A JEN CRAWFORD ANDERSON LLOYD Joint ventures JEREMY JOHNSON WYNN WILLIAMS NZ Lawyer presents an inside Securities law JOE WINDMEYER RUSSELL MCVEAGH look at the hottest private Corporate structuring JOHN STROWGER CHAPMAN TRIPP Administrative law KATHERINE BECK SWARBRICK BECK MACKINNON practice lawyers in the Litigation & dispute resolution KEVIN JAFFE SIMPSON GRIERSON New Zealand market Private equity MAI CHEN CHEN PALMER Public offerings 2014 Employment law MARK FREEMAN BELL GULLY Property MARK STUART MINTER ELLISON RUDD WATTS Intellectual property MARTIN WISEMAN DLA PHILLIPS FOX Legal practice is a game of mixed fortunes. In the many lawyers who are worthy of accolades but for 20 10 0 deal environment, every year produces a series of one reason or another have never received one. NUMBER OF LAWYERS MICHAEL POLLARD SIMPSON GRIERSON winners and losers as certain lawyers and firms So, in compiling this list of New Zealand’s NEIL MILLAR MINTER ELLISON RUDD WATTS secure the most envied roles on the top deals. hottest lawyers, we do so with a level of caution CHAPMAN TRIPP IT’S COMMERCIAL, STUPID NICK WELLS What we seek to achieve in this feature is to and respect for those lawyers who are not on the PAT BOWLER RUSSELL MCVEAGH take the pulse of the industry and discover which list. No industry survey can ever be entirely A familiar quality ascribed to corporate lawyers is their ‘commerciality’, something generally understood to be a desirable lawyers are being talked about by their peers. We comprehensive in its listing of meritorious PIP GREENWOOD RUSSELL MCVEAGH trait. We were thus intrigued when a source for this feature will be taking a close look at the roles on the NZ lawyers, and we do not purport to be exhaustive RACHAEL BROWN BELL GULLY commented that a dealmaker was “commercial, and in a Government’s mixed-ownership model, which in our showcase of legal talent. positive way”. ROGER WALLIS CHAPMAN TRIPP has particularly dominated the deal landscape of The selection of lawyers for this feature was “It’s a compliment,” the source said. We then asked in what SARAH SIMMERS ANDERSON LLOYD late, and we will also identify lawyers who have based on submissions received from firms and, context being described as commercial would not be a compliment SIMON COLLETT HOLLAND BECKETT come a long way in establishing a ‘personal brand’ for the dealmaker sections, off-record interviews for a corporate lawyer. It turns out that, in some circles, describing a BUDDLE FINDLAY for themselves. We’ll also be taking a look at non- in which respondents were asked to nominate lawyer as “commercial” is a euphemism for “not keen on technical SIMON VODANOVICH transactional areas and noteworthy achievements lawyers they respected not only within their own detail” or “trampling over the finer points of a transaction”. STEPHEN LOWE CHAPMAN TRIPP in community and pro bono work. firms but also at rival organisations. With this in mind, we adjusted our interview methodology to TAMINA SIMPSON GRIERSON LFirst, a cautionary note. Being included in a The opportunity to make submissions for this eliminate any possibility of firms slipping backhanded compliments CUNNINGHAM-ADAMS listing such as this is a significant achievement, feature was also advertised on the NZ Lawyer about their competitors into the mix. ‘Commercial’ has no TIM TUBMAN CHAPMAN TRIPP but we should remind ourselves that there are website (NZLawyermagazine.co.nz). ulterior meaning as used in this feature. 16 | APRIL 2014 APRIL 2014 | 17 COVER FEATURE / HOT LIST 2014 NZLAWYERMAGAZINE.CO.NZ Stephen Lowe, Graeme Quigley, Barry Brown, Chapman Tripp Russell McVeagh MIXED BLESSINGS Chapman Tripp Chapman Tripp’s Along with Pip Greenwood, who Lawyers who headlined the deals Stephen Lowe had a It’s been another appears later in this list, Graeme leading role advising busy year for Quigley was cited by rival firms environment following the partial Mighty River Power on Chapman Tripp as one of Russell McVeagh’s top all aspects of its IPO and M&A veteran dealmakers, and his profile has privatisation of strategic government assets has also been appointed Barry Brown, who been enhanced by his presence on The NZ government’s Mixed Ownership Model or partial privatisation of to advise the NZ played a leading some significant deals, the most key assets has certainly given the deals environment a much-needed jolt. Treasury on the Genesis role in advising recent of which is his leading Four asset selldowns have either already occurred or are currently in train: Energy selldown. the Crown on the role for Genesis on that entity’s energy companies Meridian, Mighty River Power and Genesis, and national Other examples of his recent work include Air NZ selldown. selldown. One source described carrier Air New Zealand. In this section, we acknowledge some of the firms advising Maui Capital on the establishment of Other landmark deals include advising Quigley’s strength as his “technical and lawyers who played key roles in these significant deals. Please note two private equity funds and investments by those Foodstuffs Wellington on its merger with ability”, but another thought the the listing of lawyers is not exhaustive – not all lawyers on these deals funds, and advising Goodyear & Dunlop Tyres on Foodstuffs Auckland to form New Zealand’s “trusted adviser” tag was the most were included and some appear in other sections of this feature. the sale of its New Zealand Beaurepaires business. largest retail grocery operation. Brown, a apt description here. “He would be One quality for which Lowe has been singled former chairman of the Chapman Tripp seen in NZ as one of those people out for particular praise is versatility: Lowe, well board and a former managing partner of its that the large corporates know known for his expertise in private equity matters, Wellington office, is a member of the Auditor as a trusted adviser, pulling in has had to adapt to a market in which PE activity Regulation Advisory Group of the New extremely complex deals and doing the hard yards,” the source said. “He has been somewhat patchy. “If you built your Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants has enormous energy levels and is seen as a person with huge integrity.” entire practice around PE, you’d be in a pretty and a former member of the New Zealand Quigley also had a leading role advising Fonterra on its corporate sorry state,” said one source. “Clients like Mighty Stock Exchange’s Market Surveillance Panel. restructure and Trading Among Farmers program. River Power would have no particular visibility of [Lowe’s] PE practice, but he’s managed to retain more of that general corporate practice brand, covering both the transactional and advisory ends Mark Freeman, of the spectrum – he’s done that better than most. Bell Gully You’ve gotta have more than one string to your Mark Freeman is described bow in this market, that’s for sure.” However, there as Bell Gully’s senior Joe Windmeyer, is also a view that PE activity is on the mend in statesman in Wellington Russell McVeagh 2014, so maybe the wheel will turn for our and was the firm’s lead Joe Windmeyer is another Russell Brynn Gilbertson, long-suffering PE specialists. lawyer advising the Crown McVeagh lawyer who will be Bell Gully on the Meridian selldown. appearing on the Genesis selldown. Bell Gully picked up two of the Crown roles on “He’s a guy who gets the That particular IPO, however, will the power selldowns – Mighty River Power and deal done, calls a spade a be far from the only significant Meridian – and Brynn Gilbertson was involved in Tim Tubman, Chapman Tripp spade,” said one source. equity deal on Windmeyer’s CV: both deals, taking the lead adviser spot on Mighty Like Lowe, Tim Tubman is another member It is interesting to observe the way Bell Gully he was also one of a collective of River. One source said Gilbertson was now Bell of that elite group of dealmakers who have dealmakers are described. Gavin Macdonald, Russell McVeagh lawyers who took Gully’s most prominent dealmaker: “You see him managed to secure leading roles on more featured later in this list, is described as a lawyer lead roles in advising Fonterra on around a fair bit. He was on the selldown of Meridian than one selldown. In the case of Tubman, who “doesn’t do much talking about stuff he doesn’t the highly complex collection of and Mighty River, acting for the government; that those roles were advising the New Zealand need to, but is very effective”. Brynn Gilbertson is deals related to the Trading Among gives him a bit of profile in my eyes.” government on the sale – by way of an described as “hard-working, a man of few words, a Farmers program.