Praised for its ‘depth of knowledge’ and ’incredibly pragmatic’ approach, MinterEllisonRuddWatts houses a well-regarded transactional and regulatory financial services and investment funds practice. The team acts for a diverse roster of clients and fields an excellent reputation for its work in the fintech and cryptocurrency spaces, publishing extensively and acting for leading businesses in these fields. The team is jointly led by Auckland-based partners Lloyd Kavanagh and Jeremy Muir. Kavanagh, highlighted by a client as ‘the leading investment funds lawyer in New Zealand’, acts for clients on investment funds, financial services regulation and corporate governance, while Muir is noted for his focus on the fintech sector.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

‘MinterEllisonRuddWatts is a prominent law firm in New Zealand and is known for providing excellent client service.'
‘Lloyd Kavanagh is the leading investment funds lawyer in New Zealand and is always front of mind when we need someone to provide advice on the highly technical or difficult projects. Lloyd has an ability to quickly understand complex details, yet provides pragmatic and commercial advice as he truly understands the business we operate in.'
‘They have a highly experienced team and are a full service firm. Very pragmatic and business oriented. They are across the latest developments in all areas of business and run a strong educational programme for clients. They are very quick to respond to requests and if I require something outside of office hours they are incredibly flexible and always help out.'
‘Lloyd Kavanagh has been a great help to me. He has outstanding business sense built over many years working in NZ and overseas. He still seems to love what he does and so has a lot of intellectual curiosity and is always wanting to explore new developments.I have found Lloyd to be excellent to work with. I always would look to go to him with any challenging and mission critical issues.’
‘They are incredibly practical - they understand the limitations of the law and how it can be implemented in small firms as well as large global firms.'
‘Very approachable and down to earth, which is impressive given the subject matter expertise they have. Lloyd Kavanagh is incredibly generous with his time and dedication to getting the details right so that a law change is well implemented. ’
‘Incredibly responsive, the MERW team provide clear, understandable advice in a timeframe which enables agile client interactions. What we particularly like is that rather than a single response we are given options, with a risk assessment for each, as to how we can rectify specific situations.’
‘Depth of knowledge from other jurisdictions and experience across the local market.'

Key clients

Dai-ichi Life Holdings
Futureverse Hold Co Limited
Sharesies Limited
DFA Australia Limited
Funds Administration New Zealand Limited
Debut Limited
Paytron Technologies Pty Ltd
ANZ Bank New Zealand Limited
Blackstone Inc
Milford Asset Management

Work highlights

Advising Dai-ichi Life on the New Zealand corporate and financial services regulatory aspects of its NZ$1bn acquisition of Partners Life.
Advising Sharesies (New Zealand’s fastest-growing investment platform) on the design and establishment of its new KiwiSaver scheme offering.
Advising Blackstone on the NZ aspects of its strategic partnership with Resolution Life.

Lawyers

Hall of Fame

The lawyers at the very top of the profession, widely known and respected by peers and clients for their longstanding involvement in market-leading work.