Our Services
We provide a comprehensive range of legal services to both
business and private clients. Our specialist areas include business
and commercial, intellectual property, property, trust and asset
management and wills and estates.
Business and Commercial
Our business and commercial lawyers provide comprehensive advice
to our commercial clients. Our business clients range from
individuals and families to large companies trading
internationally. We regularly advise our business clients
on:
- buying and selling businesses, companies and other investment
vehicles
- financing and lending
- structuring suitable business entities including companies,
joint ventures, partnerships, trading trusts and franchises
- distribution, agency and supply agreements and terms of
trade
- franchising (acting for both franchisors and franchisees) and
licensing
- commercial joint ventures and partnerships
- shareholding arrangements and disputes
- Commerce Act implications of restrictive trade practices and
business acquisitions
- advertising and marketing, including sales promotions
- employment matters (including employment agreements, and the
management of personal grievance, redundancy and dismissal issues,
personal restraint of trade and confidential information
matters)
- commercial contracts of various kinds
top Intellectual Property
Our business and commercial lawyers are often called upon to
give advice on intellectual property issues for our clients.
Our lawyers have the benefit of significant New Zealand and
international experience in intellectual property matters. We
provide advice in relation to commercial and contentious
intellectual property issues including:
- Commercialisation of intellectual property domestically and
internationally, including sale and purchase, licensing, research
and development, manufacturing and joint venture arrangements
- Confidentiality and copyright protection arrangements,
including strategies for protection of confidential information and
business know-how (such as manufacturing processes) and copyright
works (such as product designs)
- Registered intellectual property protection, including trade
mark and design filings, prosecution and portfolio management
- Compliance advice for advertising, marketing and promotional
activities, including Fair Trading Act, Advertising Standards
Authority codes of practice and Major Events Management Act
compliance
- Pre-litigation intellectual property enforcement, including
advice on enforcement options, letters before action and settlement
arrangements
- Assisting employers and employees in relation to intellectual
property ownership disputes and breach of confidence claims
While we do not prepare and file patent applications or
undertake intellectual property litigation, we maintain close
relationships with a network of highly regarded specialists in
these areas and regularly assist clients in the co-ordination,
management and resolution of these matters.
top Property
Our property lawyers have extensive experience acting for
private and business clients in residential, commercial /
industrial and rural property and in property development work.
Residential Property
We provide a comprehensive service to assist our clients buying
and selling residential property. We do not provide cut-price
conveyancing services. We have chosen to provide a high quality
full service for our clients for their residential property needs
including:
- buying and selling
- financing and refinancing
- unit and cross lease title developments
- tax effective ownership structures and property sharing
agreements
- asset protection and ownership structuring
Commercial / Industrial Property
We act in many commercial / industrial property transactions. Our
work includes:
- buying and selling
- financing and refinancing
- leasing - commercial, industrial and retail
- investment structures including joint ventures
- advice concerning taxation and GST implications in commercial
property dealing
Rural Property
Our rural property services include:
- buying and selling farms and horticultural blocks
- financing and refinancing
- ownership structures and property sharing agreements
Property Development
Our property development lawyers offer expert advice to
developers, subdividers and builders of residential, commercial /
industrial property, with regard to:
- ownership structures
- buying and selling land and buildings
- subdivisional developments
- multi-title developments
- project financing
- joint ventures
top Trust and Asset Management
The establishment of clients'
family trusts and the management of their investments, as well as
asset planning and succession arrangements between generations
comprise a significant part of our practice.
Our lawyers assist clients with:
- family trusts
- business (trading) trusts
- special purpose trusts
- charitable trusts
- advice to trustees in relation to the management of trust
assets, to issues related to trustees' obligations and
beneficiaries' rights and entitlements to distributions and
resettlements, and to a host of other matters
- estate and retirement planning
- advice on relationship (matrimonial/de facto) property
- gifting programs
- Enduring Powers of Attorney (including advice to Attorneys and
Managers)
top Wills And Estates
Our lawyers advise on the preparation of Wills and the
administration of Estates. We work together with family members to
facilitate administration, providing professional service and
advice on:
- estate planning and asset management
- will preparation
- administration of estates
- powers of attorney
- executorship advice
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