Russell McVeagh

Number of Partners: 50

Number of Lawyers: 220

Languages: Afrikaans, Arabic, Cantonese, English, Finnish, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Tagalog

Firm Overview:

Russell McVeagh is the premier law firm in New Zealand, characterised by a dynamic network of specialists who are champions for their clients’ strategic goals. This full-service firm provides exceptional service through its comprehensive range of practice areas and clear, innovative advice. Russell McVeagh is committed to operating on the cutting edge of legal practice and boasts award-winning lawyers who are internationally-recognised for thought leadership, depth of experience and ability to translate complex legal issues into client success stories.

Main Areas of Practice:

Competition: 3 partners, 7 fee earners.

Advising Woolworths (one of the two largest supermarket chains in NZ) on responding to the NZ Commerce Commissions market study into the retail grocery sector; Pact Group (ASX listed plastic and steel design and manufacturer) on its acquisition of Flight Plastics; Smartpay Holdings (NZ's largest independent full-service EFTPOS provider) on its sale of its NZ payments terminals business; Meridian (NZ's largest electricity generator) on collaborating with Contact Energy to establish the world's largest green hydrogen production facility.

Key Clients: Spark, Fonterra Co-operative Group, Meridian Energy, Woolworths, NZME, Lion Pty Limited.

Contact: Troy Pilkington

Tel: +64 9 367 8108

Email: [email protected]

Corporate/Commercial: 12 partners, 50 fee earners.

Advising ANZ New Zealand on the $762m sale of UDC Finance to Japan's Shinsei Bank; National Australia Bank on the sale of its New Zealand life insurance business to Partners Life; Advent International on its acquisition of New Zealand Pharmaceuticals; Fonterra on its $633m sale of a 50% interest in DFE Pharma and on its $552m sale of its dairy farms in China; Auckland Airport on its $1.2b capital raise; WEL Networks on the sale of its 85% stake in Ultrafast Fibre Holdings in a $852m deal; and, Tilt Renewables on its NZ$3.24 billion takeover by way of scheme of arrangement.

Key Clients: Spark, ANZ Bank, Fonterra Co-operative Group, BNZ Bank, Pacific Equity Partners, Auckland International Airport.

Contact: David Raudkivi

Tel: +64 9 367 8344

Email: [email protected]

Banking & Finance: 6 partners, 21 fee earners.

Advising banks, insurers, corporates, and state and municipal entities on a broad range of finance related matters, including debt capital markets, derivatives, corporate finance, project finance, securitisation and regulatory compliance.

Key Clients: ANZ Bank, ASB Bank, BNZ Bank, Westpac Bank, Kiwibank, Heartland Bank, Local Government Funding Agency (LGFA).

Contact: Guy Lethbridge

Tel: +64 4 819 7538

Email: [email protected]

Dispute Resolution: 11 partners, 42 fee earners.

Acting for the Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation, the Earthquake Commission, Credit Suisse (on a significant shareholder class action), Bath Street Capital, Lendlease, KPMG (as liquidators of the Halifax group of companies on trans-Tasman insolvency proceedings) and a number of retail banks.

Key Clients: Earthquake Commission, Credit Suisse, Fonterra Co-operative Group, KPMG, Bath Street Capital, Woolworths.

Contact: Kirsten Massey

Tel: +64 9 367 8893

Email: [email protected]

Tax: 2 partners, 9 fee earners.

Advising tax aspects of the sale of UDC by ANZ Bank; the sale by Commonwealth Bank of Australia of its New Zealand life and health insurance business and its Australian life insurance business, a transaction with a total value of A$3.8 billion. As well as advising on the policy development and law reform process, including advising industry groups such as the Corporate Taxpayers Group and New Zealand Bankers Association.

Key Clients: New Zealand's major banks - ANZ, BNZ, ASB, Westpac, Kiwibank, Heartland Bank; Fonterra Co-operative Group; Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation (New Zealand's largest sovereign wealth fund); Spark; Infratil; Vector; Trustpower; Lion; and Auckland Airport.

Contact: Fred Ward

Tel: +64 9 367 8313

Email: [email protected]

Public Law & Policy: 4 partners, 11 fee earners.

Advising a range of clients on the impact of COVID-19 and various regulatory and legislative responses; on structural reform and regulation of the water sector; on reform of the overseas investment regime; on infrastructure regulation including airports, telecommunications and energy companies, and on various specific regulatory regimes such as medicines and medical devices, food, and tobacco products and alternatives.

Key Clients: Vector, Fonterra Co-operative Group, Meridian Energy, Spark, Auckland International Airport, Queenstown Airport, NZ Airports, Google, New Forests, Watercare Services, Genesis Energy, Austrex, Lanaco, Orion Health, Woolworths.

Contact: Tim Clarke / Craig Shrive

Tel: +64 4 819 7532 / +64 9 367 8855

Email: [email protected] / [email protected]

Property & Construction: 6 partners, 18 fee earners.

Acting for institutional property owners and corporate owners and occupiers, including Auckland International Airport; syndicators Oyster on various acquisitions including the Albany Lifestyle Centre for $87.5 million, Goodman Property Trust on various acquisitions; Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation on its acquisition of 250 hectares of waterfront land; Precinct Property Group's sale of its half share of a major office tower in Auckland's CBD; an NZ$250 million acquisition for ASX listed property investment company Charter Hall; and an NZ$188 million acquisition for Logos Property.

Key Clients: Goodman Property Trust, Precinct Properties, Kiwi Properties, Auckland International Airport, JP Morgan, Woolworths, Public Sector Pension Board of Canada, Oyster.

Contact: Ed Crook

Tel: +64 9 367 8452

Email: [email protected]

Employment: 1 partners, 8 fee earners.

Assisting large New Zealand employers with industrial issues, disputes and personal grievances, and advice on COVID-19 related issues.

Key Clients: Woolworths, Meridian Energy, Auckland International Airport, Ballance Agrinutrients, Skycity, Sanford, StraitNZ, Uber.

Contact: Emma Peterson

Tel: +64 9 367 8354

Email: [email protected]

Environment, Planning & Natural Resources: 4 partners, 11 fee earners.

Advising Auckland Airport on the development of its second runway; Watercare on the Central and Northern Interceptors and the North Harbour 2 Watermain; Stevenson Group on the Drury South Crossing development; Waste Management on the Auckland Regional Landfill; and Ports of Auckland on its channel deepening proposal.

Key Clients: Fonterra Co-operative Group, Ports of Auckland, Auckland International Airport, Watercare, Vector, Scentre Group, Panuku Development Auckland, Waste Management, Summerset.

Contact: Daniel Minhinnick

Tel: +64 9 367 8714

Email: [email protected]

Restructuring & Insolvency: 6 partners, 18 fee earners

Advising liquidators of Halifax Group; receivers of Tamarind Taranaki oilfield; voluntary administrators of CBL Insurance; receivership of FE Investments, and various property development collapses, including Sanctuary No 8 and Lighthouse.

Key Clients: Calibre Partners, KPMG, PwC, ANZ Bank, Westpac Bank, BDO, Meltzer Mason, McGrathNicol.

Contact: Matt Kersey

Tel: +64 9 367 8124

Email: [email protected]

TMT: 6 partners, 30 fee earners.

Advising Data Economy Collective on New Zealand's future data strategy and digital data sharing infrastructure; digital will platform provider Footprint, on its landmark partnership with Aon; Spark (NZ's largest telecommunications company) on regulatory reform in New Zealand's telecommunications industry; Fonterra on all aspects of its global IT infrastructure outsourcing to HCL; and, on the IT aspects of NAB's sale of Bank of New Zealand's life insurance business.

Key Clients: Fonterra Co-operative Group, Westpac Bank, Kiwi Bank, Trustpower, Fidelity Life, Auckland International Airport, Spark, Earthquake Commission, NZ Police, Land Information New Zealand.

Contact: Liz Blythe

Tel: +64 9 367 8145

Email: [email protected]