General Background
I am a barrister, patent attorney and arbitrator. I am ranked by Chambers and Partners as “one of New Zealand’s leading IP silk’s” with a “particular flare when it comes to handling especially complex matters”.
I am a past president of the New Zealand Bar Association.
As well as a past council member of the Auckland Branch of the New Zealand Law Society and the Legal Practice Division of the International Bar Association (IBA). I am a past co-chair of the Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law Committee of the IBA and a past president of the Intellectual Property Society of Australia and New Zealand (IPSANZ).
I have previously been the convenor of the Intellectual Property Committee of the New Zealand Law Society for a period of 10 years.
I am the co-author of the Lexis Nexis loose-leaf texts: Copyright and Design; and Patents and Trademarks.
I provide advocacy and advice services on a range of contentious IP and IT matters. My main objective is to help clients solve complex disputes, employing conventional litigation or alternative dispute resolution strategies. My areas of specialty are patents, copyright, breach of confidence, trade marks, passing off, and misleading and deceptive conduct under the Fair Trading Act. I also appear regularly in the senior courts and before IPONZ and IP Australia.
I advise on potential claims and act on litigation involving defamation, privacy, harmful digital communications and advertising standards complaints and all other aspects of media.
I deal with a range of issues arising under the Commerce Act concerning the regulation of competition between entities (anti-trust) and under the Fair Trading Act for misleading and deceptive conduct, false and misleading representations and unfair contract terms.
I am a fellow of the Arbitrators’ and Mediators’ Institute of New Zealand and a panel member of the Intellectual Property List, focusing on a range of intellectual property and technical issues.
I act for employers and employees with disputes in the employment area whether before the Employment Relations Authority or Employment Court.
I provide regular advice on a range of contractual issues including, contract formation, termination and breach.