24 March 2009: A move up a tier in the Banking and Finance and Dispute Resolution practice areas are just two of the highlights from Simpson Grierson's rankings in the recently released Chambers Global Guide 2008/09 – a guide to the world's leading law firms.

Simpson Grierson's ascent in the banking and finance practice area, represents a strong year for the firm, with the guide stating, "As with many of the large commercial firms in New Zealand, Simpson Grierson's banking practice has been dominated in 2008 by restructuring and insolvency work after a very busy 2007. The practice has established a reputation among peers and clients as an experienced and well recognised team. Partner Andrew Harkness is described by clients as an excellent practitioner, with outstanding technical expertise; he's a great guy to deal with".

This positive year is further reinforced by the firm's dispute resolution practice also increasing its ranking in the guide. "This responsive and highly accessible team has a solid commercial litigation practice that that possesses expertise in media and construction disputes; the firm's excellent local government practice also adds further depth to the department." Partner and department head, Richard Lange, was described as an "exceptionally strong operator."

Simpson Grierson retains its top tier position in the employment practice area, with the firm being "widely recognised for the depth of its expertise in employment law; this reputation has helped it to generate an impressive list of clients." The tax and intellectual property practice areas maintained their strong position, with the latter being described as "solid, commercially savvy and very responsive" and praised for its "spot-on advice and depth of experience".

Eleven of the firm's partners were named as leading lawyer tables - one more than last year, a result the firm is tremendously proud of. Partners Andrew Harkness and Peter Eady were recognised in Banking and Finance; Peter Hinton, Kevin Jaffe and new entrant, Michael Pollard, in Corporate/Commercial; Elisabeth Welson in Corporate Commercial – Energy & Resources; Richard Lange and William Akel in Dispute Resolution; Phillipa Muir in Employment; Earl Grey in Intellectual Property, Michael Sage in TMT; and Stuart Hutchison in Tax.

The Chambers Global Guide covers more than 160 countries, offering insight into the top firms and lawyers worldwide. Law firms submit information on their significant deals for the year, including client references, and interviews are held to discuss their submission. This information is then collated in the directory to provide rankings on every firm, their lead lawyers and practice areas.