Band 2
Provided by Simon Foote KC
- Civil and commercial litigation and dispute resolution
- Arbitration
- Construction law
- Wills, trusts and estates
- Insolvency law
- Public and administrative law
- Insurance and reinsurance
Simon has practiced as a barrister sole since 2002 and was appointed Queen's Counsel in December 2019. Prior to joining the independent bar, he spent five years as a litigator at Russell McVeagh, two years with the International Arbitration Team at Clifford Chance at London and three years as a Crown Prosecutor.
Simon's practice is focused on commercial and civil litigation and arbitration, but also encompasses public law and the prosecution of criminal jury trials. Simon graduated with a PhD from Victoria University of Wellington in 2020. His thesis, “The Bona Fide Investor: Corporate Nationality and Treaty Shopping in Investment Treaty Law” was published by Wolters Kluwer in its International Arbitration Law Library Series in 2022.
Simon has particular experience in complex construction and engineering disputes, notably in respect of power station construction, performance and operation, construction of large multi-level buildings, and earthquake litigation for insurers. He has conducted trials and arbitral hearings about primary industry disputes including dairy, chicken, arable and deer farms and fruit tree orchards. He has acted in numerous shareholder and joint venture disputes; for a national shipping register, for boat builders, marine operators and a major offshore fishing company. He has acted for purchasers, vendors, lessors and lessees in land disputes and for private clients in estate, defamation, family protection and family trust matters.
Simon has a particular interest in investment treaty arbitration and has been claimant's counsel in an investment treaty claim against Australia as well as advising corporates on investment treaty issues. Simon has been appointed as arbitrator in domestic and international arbitrations and delivered three major decisions in 2022 about intellectual property licensing of fruit varieties and cultivars as Chair of the Ministry for Primary Industry Independent Compensation Review Panel.
Simon's public law experience includes appearing for the New Zealand Bar Association as an intervener in the Supreme Court regarding the eligibility of self-represented lawyers and litigants in person for awards of costs. In 2020, Simon was counsel in several judicial review cases challenging Government decisions under Covid-19 legislation.
Simon is a member of the Crown Prosecutor Panel for Manukau. From 2017–2021, he was the lead Crown Prosecutor in respect of indecent assault and obstruction of justice charges brought against a prominent New Zealand businessman and two associates which culminated in a month long jury trial in the High Court at Auckland in 2021.
Simon is ranked as a Leading Silk in the Legal 500 Asia Rankings 2024 for commercial disputes. He is ranked Band 2: Silks in the 2024 and 2025 Chambers and Partners Global and Asia-Pacific Guides for Dispute Resolution – The Bar: "Simon is a skilled advocate. He is an excellent all-round barrister, is great on his feet, has a very quick mind and is a pleasure to deal with."
Simon was a Council member of the New Zealand Bar Association from 2015–2023 and Vice President (Auckland) of the Association from 2020–2023.
- Vice President (Auckland), New Zealand Bar Association 2020–2023
- New Zealand Bar Association Council Member 2015–2023
- Member of Bankside’s Singapore Chambers
- Member of the Crown Panel for Manukau City
- Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb)
- Fellow of the Arbitrators' and Mediators Institute of New Zealand (FAMINZ)
- Deputy Chair of the Organising Committee for the World Bar Conference held at Queenstown in September 2014
- Chair of the Organising Committee for the 2016–2021 New Zealand Bar Association annual conferences.
- Simon was a director of Bankside Chambers Limited, Auckland from 2012–2014 and Chairman in 2015.
The Bona Fide Investor: Corporate Nationality and Treaty Shopping in Investment Treaty Law, Simon Foote QC (Kluwer Law International, The Netherlands, International Arbitration Law Library Series No. 63, 2022)
The Investor/Investment Dichotomy in Investment Treaty Law, Dr Simon Foote QC and Samuel Jeffs, Auckland University Law Review, 2021 Vol 27(2) 18
Co-author of the New Zealand Bar Association Report on Access to Justice, 2018 (with Maria Dew QC and Gretta Schumacher)
David AR Williams QC and Simon Foote, Recent Developments in the Approach to Identifying an ‘Investment’ Pursuant to Article 25(1) of the ICSID Convention, Evolution in Investment Treaty Law and Arbitration, Cambridge University Press, 2011
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the TPPA: what you need to know about investment protections and investor state dispute resolution, Simon Foote and Sam Jeffs, At the Bar, September 2016
The Obligation of Arbitrators to Address all Issues Which Fall for Determination But No More, Asian International Arbitration Journal, 2014 (10), p.47, Simon Foote and James Herbert
New Zealand: Appeal Court Affirms Pro-enforcement Approach, Global Arbitration Review, 27 February 2013, David AR Williams QC and Simon Foote
Agreements to Arbitrate: the Severability of Illegal Contractual Promises, NZ Lawyer, Issue 203, 12, Simon Foote and Anja Borchardt
Reflections on a Marathon Trial [2010] NZLJ 213, Tom Weston QC and Simon Foote
Limitation Clauses [2010] NZLJ 317, Tom Weston QC and Simon Foote
Provided by Chambers
Simon Foote KC focuses closely on disputes arising in the construction and engineering spheres, offering extensive experience in the fields of both litigation and international arbitration. He is additionally noted as an accomplished handler of certain classes of criminal cases and complex commercial disputes.
Provided by Chambers
Simon Foote is a leading commercial silk. I would consider briefing Simon on all contentious matters involving trusts and commercial disputes.
Simon Foote is an accomplished courtroom advocate with versatile legal skills.
Simon Foote is a leading commercial silk. I would consider briefing Simon on all contentious matters involving trusts and commercial disputes.
Simon Foote is an accomplished courtroom advocate with versatile legal skills.