BA LLB (Hons) (Auck) 1994

LLM (Toronto) 1999

Admitted: 1995

Barrister Sole: 2006

Bob provides expert legal representation in dispute litigation. He has specific interests in contract, torts (particularly misrepresentation and negligence), restitution, company and commercial disputes, and insolvency. As well as representing clients in court and in arbitrations, Bob provides strategic advice and proactive management of resolving disputes and anticipated disputes. He is conscious of client goals and constructs a strategy to achieve these.

Educational and Professional Qualifications

• 2000-2006: Solicitor and Senior Associate, Bell Gully litigation department
• 1999-2000: Legal Counsel, Court of Appeal of Alberta
• 1997-1998: Assistant Crown Counsel, Crown Law Office
• 1995-1996: Judge's Clerk, Court of Appeal of New Zealand

Membership of Professional Bodies

• Board Member, Shortland Chambers
• Board Member, NZLCE (NZ Law Socitey Continuing Education)
• Member, Faculty of Litigation Skills Programme (NZ Law Society)
• Member, NZ Bar Assocation
• Member, NZ Law Society

Presentations

• 2014: NZ Law Society seminar 'Issues in unjust enrichment'
• 2013: NZ Law Society seminar 'Practical enforcement of judgments'
• 2007-2011: NZ Law Society seminar 'Practical presentations of legal arguments for junior litigators'

Bob's experience includes:

• Acting for an international telecommunications company in a dispute with a service provider;
• In a competition law claim against a market dominant entity;
• For the Commerce Commission in a Fair Trading Act claim over structured finance products;
• For a listed company in a FMA inquiry;
• In SFO investigations;
• For directors in claims of breach of fiduciary duty;
• In a fidelity insurance claim (Marac Finance v Vero Liability [2013] NZHC 2525);
• For the NZ franchisee of an international brand in a property dispute;
• As amicus in a Law Practitioners Disciplinary appeal (Orlov v NZLPDT [2014] NZHC 1987);
• For various parties in leaky building claims (e.g. Minister of Education v Econicorp Holdings Ltd [2011] NZCA 450);
• For the BNZ in a tax case involving structured finance transactions (BNZ v CIR (2009) 24 NZTC 23).

He has also acted on cases regarding:

• contribution among guarantors (Milloy v Dobson [2014] NZHC 1631);
• lease reinstatement claims (e.g. Cazna v University of Auckland [2014] NZHC 303);
• illegal contracts;
• protests to jurisdiction and conflicts of laws (e.g. Teece v KFH [2014] NZHC 3162);
• removal of trustees;
• insolvency and bankruptcy (for liquidators, receivers, creditors, and individuals);
• sale and purchase agreements;
• banking mandate;
• shareholder and joint venture disputes;
• minority oppression/unfair prejudice claims;
• sharemilking agreements;
• unjust enrichment/restitution;
• false imprisonment and malicious prosecution; and
• in Law Society, NZICA, and NZIPA investigations.

• "Hercules Managements and the Duty of Care in Negligent Misstatement: How Dispensable is Reliance?" [2001] 34 UBCLR 515
• "Fiduciary Relationships in Commercial Settings" [1996] NZLJ 13 & 52 (with Matthew Conaglen)
• Master of Laws, University of Toronto, 1998-1999 (thesis: "The element of reliance in the tort of negligent misstatement")
• Bachelor of Laws (Honours), University of Auckland, 1989-1994 (Dissertation: "Recovery of profits made from a breach of contract")
• Bachelor of Arts, French Language and Literature, University of Auckland, 1989-1994