Chair's Message

Kia ora tātou

It has been another busy year across the firm. Thankfully, we are closing in on the holiday season - and an opportunity to step away from client work for a while to reset and relax.

In a large business like ours, change is constant and people come and go over time. Following Dave Trueman’s decision to seek a fresh career challenge (announced earlier in the year), partners Heather Ash, Earl Gray, and Michael Robinson are also leaving us at the end of this year. Former partner, now special counsel, Willy Akel will also be leaving us to pursue the next stage of his career at the bar.

All have made tremendous contributions to our firm and will be missed. We wish with them every success and there will be fitting celebrations for each of them.

Our firm has also added some exciting talent in 2018 - including special counsel Chris Browne and people and culture director Paula Williams.

Continuing this trend, I’m delighted to announce the recent arrival of new partner Cath Shirley-Brown, who has joined our Wellington commercial team on her return from the UK. Also strengthening our partnership is Nick Wilson, who will become a partner in our Auckland property team in 2019.  Both Cath and Nick are outstanding lawyers and will be strong contributors and leaders for our firm.

It’s also pleasing to announce the appointment of Sarah Chapman as special counsel in the intellectual property team and Caroline Ferguson as business transformation and innovation director. Recognising and rewarding our high performers is a key priority for us, and both Caroline and Sarah are very deserving of these new opportunities.

2018 has been a busy, challenging, and productive year for our firm. Our organisation has seen a lot of changes, many highs, and a few lows - including the passing of Kevin Jaffe.

Overall we are well positioned to start 2019 on the right note. Investments in innovation processes and technology will keep us on the cutting edge of client service, and our summer clerk and general recruitment programmes continue to bring aboard high calibre candidates to join the excellent people we already have on our team.

Underpinning all of that are strong values and culture. We don’t take that for granted and have placed a big emphasis on developing a positive culture, with engaged people, doing challenging work, in a flexible workplace. This is always a work in progress, and will continue to be a priority for our firm.

I hope you all have a safe and enjoyable holiday season.

Ngā mihi nui
Anne Callinan