Phillipa is a partner and heads the employment law group. She acts for many of New Zealand's major corporations, tertiary institutions, and local government bodies.
Phillipa has successfully argued several leading cases in new areas of employment law. These include the first major damages claim brought by an employer against a union, the first successful stress damages case to go to the Court of Appeal, and the first employment law case to go to New Zealand's Supreme Court.
- Asia Pacific Legal 500 Employment 2011 - Leading Lawyer
- Chambers Global Employment 2012 - Leading Lawyer
- PLC Which Lawyer? Labour & Employee Benefits 2011 - Leading Lawyer
- The International Who's Who Legal Management Labour & Employment and Commercial Litigation 2010 - Leading Lawyer
- AsiaLaw Leading Lawyers Guide 2009 - Leading Labour & Employment Lawyer
Examples of Work
- Three Foot Six - appeal to the Supreme Court on the definition of "employee" under the Employment Relations Act
- Fonterra Co-operative Group - employment law issues relating to global outsourcing
- Auckland City Council - appeal to the Court of Appeal on good faith and consultation under the Employment Relations Act
- University of Auckland - test case before the full Employment Court on good faith in collective bargaining
- Acting for the plaintiff in the first successful stress damages case to go to the Court of Appeal (Cartwright v Commissioner of Police)
Other Credentials
- Global Employment Law Alliance - Board member
- HealthAlliance NZ Ltd - Director
- Fletcher Building Employee Education Fund - Chair
- University of Auckland Faculty of Law - Guest lecturer
- Employment Law - Co-author
- Recruitment and Termination - Co-author
