LawFuel Power List 2025 No. 11 Russell secured a $135.6 million ASB settlement in October 2025, one of New Zealand’s largest banking payouts without a liability admission, after four years of class action litigation over Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act disclosure breaches. The ANZ case continues. That’s plaintiff-side power: making banks sweat, resisting retrospective
LawFuel Power List No. 7 Chang moves up three spots because the SFO under her leadership stopped resembling a bureaucratic afterthought and started resembling a threat. Foreign-bribery whistleblower platforms, Ponzi plea deals, sustained prosecutions of corporate fraud—2025 saw the SFO prosecuting with a swagger that’s been absent for years. The Court of Appeal’s criticism in
LawFuel Power List 2025 No. 5 Laracy returned to Crown Law in January 2021 after a 15-year tenure as Crown Counsel and a stint as Deputy Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security. That résumé spanning national security, criminal appeals, and sensitive governmental processes positions her as Jagose’s likely successor when the Solicitor-General departs in February 2026.
LawFuel Power List 2025 No. 14 Salmon’s 2025 profile case was the Talleys v. TVNZ defamation battle (September 2025), resulting in a win with a dismissal of the claim. His practice is astonishingly diverse: representing the Independent Māori Statutory Board against Auckland Council (judicial review over Watercare chairmanship), Northland kaumatua Mike Smith in climate change
LawFuel Power List 2025 No. 16 Hunter is Shortland Chambers’ go-to commercial silk—ANZ, BNZ, Commerce Commission, Kiwi Property, Metlifecare, Precinct, Rabobank, Vector, Vero, Westpac. His practice spans banking, company law, contract disputes, negligence claims, regulatory matters. One of few silks ranked Band 1 by both Chambers & Partners and The Legal 500, he’s admitted to
LawFuel Power List 2025 No. 19 Gatland joined the Financial Markets Authority in December 2017 from the Serious Fraud Office and Meredith Connell. Her enforcement portfolio has sharpened: civil claims against Tower Insurance, litigation involving Rockfort Markets, high-profile Du Val property group prosecution. With CCCFA enforcement transferring to the FMA, her regulatory remit expands. The
LawFuel Power List 2025 No. 20 Reed continues tackling high-profile cases at the intersection of criminal and civil law. Her October 2024 Whakaari Management High Court appeal challenging the company’s conviction over the 2019 volcanic eruption killing 22 people argued the ruling had “concerning implications” for landlords permitting adventure activities. This year she excoriated the
LawFuel Power List 2025 No. 21 McClintock was appointed Auckland Crown Solicitor in February 2023, succeeding Brian Dickey KC, leading nearly 150 prosecutors in a role Meredith Connell has held for over a century. With 20+ years’ prosecution experience including 100+ trials (murder, sexual offenses, major drug crimes), she’s institutionally powerful. Her demotion from No.
LawFuel Power List 2005 No. 23 Auckland Crown Solicitor (2015-2023), Dickey was the first Māori to hold that position Dickey led NZ’s highest-profile prosecutions including Grace Millane’s murder trial and involvement in the Polkinghorne case. His 30 years of criminal and commercial litigation, SFO panel membership since 2010, and white-collar crime expertise following the GFC
LawFuel Power List 2015 No. 36 Floyd is General Counsel at Fonterra since 2023, navigating challenges including evolving dairy regulations, international trade barriers, sustainability initiatives, on-farm profitability issues, and processor competition for milk supply. She steers legal strategy for a $24 billion company through the Dairy Industry Restructuring Amendment Bill and global market dynamics affecting
