Lauren Lindsay

Practice Areas

- Civil and commercial litigation and dispute resolution

- Arbitration

- Insurance and reinsurance

- Public international law and investment treaty law

Career

Lauren has a wide-ranging disputes practice acting as counsel in complex commercial litigation and international arbitration. Lauren is comfortable and experienced in appearing as lead or junior counsel in any dispute resolution forum, be it in court, in arbitration or in mediation, both domestically and internationally.

Lauren has been ranked as a commercial litigator in Lexology (formerly Who’s Who), Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners. She is one of a handful of New Zealand lawyers to be recognised for her skills in both litigation and arbitration, being ranked in three separate categories in Lexology including “National Leader in Australia & New Zealand for Arbitration”, “Commercial Litigation – Future Leader (Non-Partner)” and “Arbitration – Future Leader (Non Partner)”.

She is currently acting as lead counsel in several insurance and reinsurance-related cases, some involving multi-jurisdictional components. She is also instructed by a class action specialist firm to act on behalf of a representative plaintiff in an action against pharmaceutical companies in connection with the sale of over the counter nasal decongestants.

Lauren has previously acted as part of the lead defense counsel team in a complex SFO prosecution in the High Court concerning allegations of electoral fraud involving New Zealand’s two major political parties.

Lauren also sits as an arbitrator with experience in arbitrations under the LCIA, SIAC, ICC and HKIAC Rules.

With tertiary qualifications in biology and a passion for science, Lauren has developed a speciality in disputes that require an understanding of scientific principles, whether that be biology, statistics or mathematics. She has particular expertise in disputes arising in the insurance, life sciences, pharmaceutical, ICT and corporate sectors.

Lauren also provides support on contentious corporate and transactional issues. Lauren has expertise in advising on public international law, on force majeure clauses and in issues concerning frustration of contracts. Lauren advises on the drafting of dispute resolution clauses for all types of contracts, including complex multi-party, multi-contract transactions.

Lauren is admitted in New Zealand and England & Wales. She is also a fellow of CIArb, a fellow of ACICA, and a fellow of AMINZ. Lauren is currently a NZ member of the ICC Commission on ADR and Arbitration (a three-year term).

Lauren grew up in Vanuatu, in the South West Pacific, a French-British condominium. She obtained her LLB(Hons) and BSc (majoring in genetics) from the University of Auckland in New Zealand and an LLM from the European University Institute in Florence, Italy on a full scholarship. Lauren is a bilingual French and English speaker and also has a working knowledge of Spanish.

Professional Memberships

Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Fellow)

Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (Fellow)

Arbitrators’ and Mediators’ Institute of New Zealand (Fellow)

New Zealand Law Society (Member)

Law Society of England & Wales (Member)

New Zealand Bar Association (Member)

IBA, Arbitration Committee (Member)

ICCA (Member)

International Law Association (Member)

New Zealand Dispute Resolution Centre (Arbitrator Panel)

New Zealand International Arbitration Centre (Arbitrator Panel)

New Zealand Insurance Law Association (Member)

Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (List of Arbitrators)

Singapore International Arbitration Centre (Panel of Arbitrators)

Publications

Polly Pope and Lauren Lindsay “Confidentiality in Commercial Litigation and Arbitration” (NZLS CLE, 2019)

Lauren Lindsay and Jovana Nedeljkov “Damages for Breach of Contract” (Thomson Reuters, Practical Law, 2019)

Anna Kirk and Lauren Lindsay "Arbitration" [2020] New Zealand Law Review 639

L Lindsay and S Trafford, New Zealand Chapter in "Force Majeure and Hardship in the Asia Pacific Region" (2021, Juris Publishing)

Hon Paul Heath KC, Dr Anna Kirk, Ben Prewettt & Lauren Lindsay International Arbitration Laws and Regulations in New Zealand (ICLG International Arbitration 2022) (August 2022)