My experience

 

I have appeared in numerous Court and Tribunal hearings, including as senior or sole counsel in the Court of Appeal, High Court, Employment Court, District and Family Courts and the Employment Relations Authority.   I have also appeared as junior counsel in a number of complex civil trials in the High Court. 

 

I have also assisted clients in mediations, both private and Court-facilitated, on many occasions in a wide range of cases.  

 

While I was a lecturer at the University, I gave presentations on employment and insurance issues at a number of conferences and industry events, both in New Zealand and Australia.   I was also asked on many occasions to be a peer-reviewer for academic journal articles.   

  

Examples of recent work​

• Acting for a secondary school teacher who made a protected disclosure to the Ministry of Education about a possible physical assault by another staff member against a student and was then made the subject of disciplinary action by the School's board of trustees

• Acting for a commercial radio employee who was made redundant on the grounds of a Covid-19 related business restructure     

• Appearing in a 2 day trial in the Employment Court on behalf of a client seeking approximately $200,000 in wage arrears and unpaid holiday entitlements from a former employer

• Appearing in a 3 day hearing in the Employment Relations Authority for a client facing allegations of disclosure of confidential information and claims for enforcement of restraint of trade clauses by a former employer

• Acting for vulnerable foreign workers in a personal grievance claim in the Employment Relations Authority after they were dismissed from their jobs in a hospitality setting

• Acting for a life insurance policy holder who was declined cover for terminal illness following a diagnosis of serious cancer

• Acting for a student at the University of Canterbury who was denied admission to a limited entry course for reasons that the student considered unreasonable

• Advising on a dispute about a life insurance policy involving allegations that the insured had breached his duty of disclosure and/or made material misstatements 

• Representing a bar/restaurant in a personal grievance claim by an ex-employee in the Employment Relations Authority  ​​​