Personal bio
I went to the independent bar in 2002, following 10 years with leading firms. I was appointed Queen's Counsel in December 2019. My practice encompasses primarily commercial litigation and arbitration, but I also have expertise in public law cases and the prosecution of criminal jury trials. I am presently Chair of the Ministry for Primary Industry's Independent Compensation Review Panel. I have considerable 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. I have conducted trials and arbitral hearings about dairy, arable and deer farms. I have acted in numerous shareholder and joint venture disputes and acted for purchasers and vendors and lessors and lessees in land disputes and for private clients in estate, defamation, family protection and family trust matters. I have a particular interest in investment treaty arbitration and was one of the claimant's counsel in an investment treaty claim against Australia as well as advising corporates on investment treaty issues. My Ph.D thesis, The Bona Fide Investor, concerned corporate nationality and treaty shopping in investment treaty law and was published by Wolters Kluwer in 2022. I am currently Vice-President (Auckland) of the New Zealand Bar Association.