LawFuel Power List 2025 No. 50 Low profile but a LawFuel List regular, Ann Brennan leads MBIE’s 70+ legal team including 64 lawyers organized into four specialized teams, having played crucial roles in significant projects such as developing legislation for Outer Space and High-Altitude Activities, supporting earthquake response, handling major government initiatives. She transformed MBIE’s […]
LawFuel Power List 2025 No. 45 Doyen, mentor, legend – they all apply to Jim Farmer KC who remains on the List even if there is some deserved slowing of case histories. Chambers Asia-Pacific 2025 ranks Farmer as “Senior Statesperson,” describing him as “widely regarded as one of NZ’s pre-eminent commercial litigators, vastly experienced in
LawFuel Power List 2025 No. 49 A legend at the bar with a career spanning 55+ years including 100+ murder trials, Hampton recently resigned from the Criminal Cases Review Commission citing concerns about independence and expertise. He retains his reputation as one of NZ’s best defence lawyers with expertise extending to major inquiries including Pike
LawFuel Power List 2025 No. 32 Flanagan is NZ’s premier plaintiff-side commercial litigator, like Fionnghuala Cuncannon and yet another Meredith Connell alumni, likely having argued more leading Fair Trading Act and Financial Markets Conduct Act cases than any other lawyer. Most recently he acted for the Ministry of Education in successful claims against James Hardie and
LawFuel Power List 2025 No. 30 England became Chief Executive Partner in February 2021, succeeding Nick Wells after 28 years with the firm (partner since 2001, Auckland corporate practice leader for a decade). Chapman Tripp was named NZ Law Firm of the Year at 2024 KangaNews Awards (ninth consecutive win) and won the 2024 IDC
LawFuel Power List No. 4 Over 600 cases resulting in High Court judgments. That’s not a typo, Hodder’s been appearing in New Zealand’s senior courts since 1980, racking up victories and precedents with the relentlessness of a metronome. His Three Waters work (representing Timaru, Waimakariri, and Whangarei councils) put him at the intersection of local
LawFuel Power List 2025 No. 3 Our highest-ranking independent lawyer on the List and now something of a staple is former Solicitor-General (2012-2016) who has become New Zealand’s go-to independent investigator for scandals too sensitive for the usual suspects. His 2025 workload included the Public Service Commission’s personal information protection probe (finalized May 2025) and
LawFuel Power List 2025 No. 2 Kitteridge’s August 2025 appointment as Professor of Practice at Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government wasn’t just a plum academic gig—it was a coronation. The Deputy Public Service Commissioner role already gave her the ear of every minister who matters; Oxford gives her global heft. Her CV reads like New
JCC Report Exposes Ongoing Judicial Bullying Claims New Zealand’s Judicial Conduct Commissioner, the long-suffering and certainly the long-serving Alan Ritchie, has released his annual report, and surprise: the complaints box is still overflowing. Bullying, incompetence, and glacial case progress continue to stalk the courts like unwanted familiars. Bullying, delays and what might politely be called
NZ Judges Under Pressure As Report Points To Bad Behaviour Read More »
Senior Partner Exodus At Meredith Connell John Bowie, LawFuel publisher New Zealand’s largest litigation firm is doing what law firms euphemistically call a “strategic review”, which in plain English usually means people are being shown the door with polite smiles and carefully worded press releases. But at Meredith Connell, this isn’t a gentle reshuffle of
What Does The Meredith Connell ‘Strategic Review’ Really Signal? Read More »
