Bell Gully is pleased to announce the appointment of two new partners, a new special counsel and eight new senior associates. The new partners are corporate specialist Laura Littlewood and commercial litigator Jesse Wilson.
"We are delighted to welcome Laura and Jesse to the partnership. Laura is an excellent lawyer, with recognised expertise in technology, cyber security, e-commerce and consumer law. She has a strong understanding of the technology environment and the changing needs of our clients. Laura's appointment further strengthens the firm's digital offering," said Bell Gully Chair Chris Gordon. "Jesse is a seasoned litigator who works tirelessly on behalf of our clients involved in company and shareholder disputes, regulatory investigations, and construction and insurance litigation."
The firm has also appointed a new special counsel – competition and regulatory specialist, Glenn Shewan.
"Glenn has an excellent reputation for his superb handling of complex matters. His appointment is well-deserved and reflects his excellent work for our clients needing competition and other regulatory expertise," said Chris.
Our eight new senior associates are Adri Lock, Hannah Musgrave, Nicola Peak, Morgan Powell, Hayden Roberts, Bridget Thompson, Michael Tilley, and Rosemary Wooders.
"These promotions reflect their hard work and ability, the strength of the firm across all areas of commercial practice and the broad needs of our clients," he said. "We congratulate them on their success."
Partners
Laura Littlewood is an experienced corporate and commercial partner. Her practice covers corporate transactions and commercial contracts, as well as specialist advice on technology innovation, data, cyber security, consumer law and e-commerce. Laura has a particular interest in data and digital disruption in the consumer and retail sectors.
Jesse Wilson is an experienced commercial litigator with expertise in company and shareholder disputes, competition law and regulatory investigations, particularly in securities law. He also acts on contentious construction and insurance disputes.
Special Counsel
Glenn Shewan is a specialist competition, regulatory and overseas investment lawyer, advising on merger control, cartels and misuse of market power claims. He has extensive experience advising on the competition law aspects of mergers and acquisitions. Glenn regularly assists foreign acquirers of New Zealand land and business assets to obtain approvals from the Overseas Investment Office.
Senior Associates
Adri Lock is a commercial property lawyer with a particular focus on retail leasing. She acts for several large commercial landlord and tenant clients, advising them on all aspects of their major and day-to-day leasing arrangements. Prior to joining Bell Gully, Adri worked as in-house counsel at a project management company.
Hannah Musgrave is a skilled commercial and criminal trial advocate, with experience in insurance, judicial review, local government matters, trust disputes, and regulatory and white-collar crime. Her recent work includes acting for insurers on matters involving policy disputes and local government on disputes arising from the implementation of new regulatory regimes.
Nicola Peak is a Wellington based lawyer with broad commercial property experience, including property transactions, buying and selling land and commercial buildings, development agreements, commercial leasing and complex transactions. She acts for a number of the firm’s public and private sector clients and is a trusted advisor in a wide range of property transactions.
Morgan Powell is a skilled litigator with particular expertise in commercial, insurance, and leasing disputes. He acts for a number of insurers in proceedings arising from the Canterbury earthquake sequence, and he represents clients at settlement meetings, mediations, and judicial settlement conferences.
Hayden Roberts is a specialist tax lawyer with particular experience in tax disputes and litigation. He advises clients on various corporate tax law issues, including mergers and acquisitions, financing arrangements, securitisation structures and employee remuneration arrangements. Hayden has been involved in a number of disputes with the Inland Revenue Department, acting for taxpayers.
Bridget Thompson is a banking and finance lawyer with experience acting on a range of transactions including acquisition finance, asset finance and leasing, securitisations and general corporate finance. She acts for a number of leading financial institutions and large corporate and private equity clients. Bridget joined Bell Gully in 2016 after three years working in London.
Michael Tilley is a specialist competition and regulatory lawyer, with extensive experience advising companies and regulators on all aspects of merger control, cartel investigations and misuse of market power claims. Prior to joining Bell Gully, Michael was a Senior Legal Counsel at the New Zealand Commerce Commission.
Rosemary Wooders is a talented employment lawyer who regularly advises employers and senior executives on a variety of contentious and advisory employment matters including personal grievances and disputes, collective bargaining matters, restraints of trade, absence management, redundancy and performance issues, and negotiated exits. Rosemary joins our market-leading employment team after five years working in London.