Legal Articles & Publications

By: Amanda Douglas, Anthony Drake

Many employers and employees use the festive season to take planned holidays, manage leave balances, and in some cases close the office, factory or shop. Amanda Douglas and Anthony Drake explain some of the employer's obligations.

By: Hayden Baird, Steffan Ronald

Changes are coming to the controversial arena of residential landlord and tenant legal relationships. With 1 in 3 New Zealanders now renting, these changes will affect a significant proportion of the population. The Government has announced a suite of changes to the Residential Tenancies Act 1986.

By: Phoebe Davies

It always seems to be a rough road for the agri-sector. Recent years have seen it faced with drought, low milk prices and a change in government which has had severe knock on implications not only for overseas investors, but also for famers themselves. The banks are tightening their LVR requirements and some are looking to divest of certain agri-sectors all together.

By: Amanda Douglas

In our experience, the lead up to Christmas and the New Year is when employers often look ahead to their staffing needs for the upcoming year. Often, it is at this time that employers identify employment issues.

By: Josh Taylor, Miles McConway

The 21st century has brought with it some fascinating developments, smartphones, social media, and service of statutory demands by email? The judgment of Lester AJ in the High Court decision of Upright Scaffolding Ltd v Pinnies Painters & Plasterers Ltd seems to have settled the decades old question of whether service of a statutory demand by email is possible under the Companies Act 1993.

By: Michelle Mehlhopt, Alyssa Langford

Last week the Minister for the Environment, Hon David Parker, introduced the Resource Management Amendment Bill (Bill) to the house. The Bill proposes to repeal a number of the changes to the RMA that were introduced by the previous coalition Government in the Resource Legislation Amendment Act 2017 (RLAA) and otherwise includes some easy ‘wins’ for this Government.

By: Charlene Sell

Whether you are running a small local business or a large multi-national organisation, your brand will often be your most important asset. A distinctive brand is an important way to target and maintain a connection with your chosen market. By protecting your brand, you can ensure that it remains unique to your business and contributes to strong and consistent brand awareness amongst both your existing customers and your wider target market.

By: Jesse Aimer

In a recent High Court decision Auckland Council v Cabra Rural Developments Ltd [2019] NZHC 1892, the Court provided guidance on a range of fundamental issues in plan making. This note outlines the Environment Court and High Court decisions and sets out three key takeaways that anyone involved in plan-making processes should bear in mind.

By: Anthony Drake, Chelsea Wiggill

Diversity is generally defined as acknowledging, understanding, accepting and valuing the differences among people regarding age, ethnicity, gender, physical and mental disability, race, sexual orientation, and religious or political beliefs. Regardless, discrimination on any of those grounds would be unlawful under the Human Rights Act 1993.

By: Andrew Watkins

A prenup, or to use its technical term “Contracting Out Agreement”, may be one of the most important documents you’ll ever sign. Approximately 10 per cent of couples have them, and they are becoming increasingly popular.

By: Kirstie Wyss, Lucy de Latour

Freshwater management has been a long-standing political hot potato. Regional councils around the country have been busy ensuring they fulfil their functions in relation to water quality and water quantity, and implementing the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (NPS-FM) (in its various forms) since its introduction in 2011. On 5 September 2019, the Government released its “Action for Healthy Waterways” discussion document for consultation.

By: Sophie Carter

In recent times, New Zealand has seen an influx of synthetic drugs come on to the market. While an employer may be diligent in carrying out on-site drug testing, a frightening reality is that a traditional on-site drug test may not pick up synthetic drugs.