Legal Articles & Publications

By: Amanda Douglas, Jack Stringer

On 6 December 2018, the Government passed its flagship Employment Relations Amendment Bill. The Bill seeks to restore a number of minimum standards and protections for employees, as well as strengthen collective bargaining and union rights in the workplace.

By: Bethany Entwistle

The highly anticipated Privacy Bill was introduced to Parliament in March 2018 and is due to come into effect in July 2019. It will replace the Privacy Act 1993 and aims to bring New Zealand’s privacy law framework up-to-date with the digital society we live in. The reform also brings New Zealand in line with international laws, including the European General Data Protection Regulation.

By: Josh Taylor

The recent receivership and subsequent liquidation of Ebert Construction Limited (Ebert) has been well publicised with significant public interest about another large construction firm in financial trouble.

By: Tiana Ritchie, James Anson-Holland

The Law Commission is reviewing the Property (Relationships) Act 1976 (Act). As part of its review, the Law Commission has recently released their preferred approach for changes to the Act.

By: Anthony Drake

We have all heard stories where people let their hair down at the Christmas party – and the boozy office bash turns messy. A number of untoward things can take place! We have reached that time of the year when we need to remind ourselves and staff about acceptable and non-acceptable behaviour.

By: Josh Taylor

The parties to a construction contract will commonly come to an arrangement where the principal will need to make a payment to the contractor before any work is undertaken. That is, the principal must pay a deposit or security. The same is also true as between contractor and subcontractor.

By: Bethany Entwistle

We live in a world in which smartphones can track our steps and location, sense light, temperature, and our voice. If cell phone privacy even exists, does a law requiring us to provide access to our cell phones cross the line?

By: Jack Stringer

The recent decision of the High Court in Department of Internal Affairs v Qian Duoduo Limited comes as a timely reminder to reporting entities about the risks associated with failing to comply with the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism regime under the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009.

By: Anthony Drake

Electronic mail (email) has become the main mode of communication in the business world. Email has modified the character of corporate and personal communication. It removes the time and place restrictions previously associated with more traditional methods of communication. When engaging in business correspondence through email people perceive it as an informal mode of communication.

By: Amanda Douglas

There has been a lot of news headlines about liquidations. So, if you are finding things tough, what can you do? Staff costs are a large expense for any business. Often, you can rearrange your staffing to be more efficient. To do this, you need to carry out a restructure process, which can involve looking at your organisational structure to determine whether any positions can be merged or whether any positions can be removed.

By: Stephanie Woods

A recent UK case has provided an opening for awards of exemplary damages for serious insurance fraud.

By: Bethany Entwistle

IAG has successfully appealed the High Court’s decision in Robin v IAG [2018] NZHC 204. IAG applied to join four other parties as defendants to the proceeding on the basis that each party was involved in the repair work and owed a duty of care to Ms Robin.