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. 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 2025 No. 43 Campbell becomes the 34th NZ Law Society President on March 27, 2026, succeeding Frazer Barton after serving as Vice President since 2022. A Dentons litigation partner with 23+ years’ practice (previously Kensington Swan, Morrison Kent, Goldsmiths London specializing in defamation), Campbell’s leadership credentials include Auckland Branch President (2016), Law
LawFuel Power List 2025 No. 42 Paul Majurey chairs Eke Panuku Development Auckland (overseeing waterfront/Wynyard Quarter development), chairs the Maunga Authority, and manages a $115 million iwi investment fund. His 26-year specialization in environmental/Treaty law positions him as lead negotiator for 30 iwi in Treaty negotiations. His work on “Maungārongo” development with Ockham Residential is
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
Cuncannon launched her eponymous plaintiff litigation firm in 2024 after a decade as Meredith Connell partner, betting New Zealand was ready for American-style class action specialists. The move shows the evolution of the plaintiff bar, litigation funding and class actions as a growth market. The firm establishment gamble paid off with Chambers ranking her in
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
LawFuel Power List 2025 No. 1 Una Jagose may be stepping down in February, but she clings to the top spot on the LawFuel Power List by continued influence in the top law role. It was not the easiest year. She had already faced issues with her late-2024 prosecution guidelines suggesting ethnicity might factor into
Select Committee Blocks ANZ’s Legislative End Run In a decision that sent tremors through the executive suites of New Zealand’s banking establishment, Parliament’s Finance & Expenditure Select Committee has delivered what can only be described as a judicial body blow to Big Banking’s most audacious gambit yet: attempting to legislate away a class action mid-flight.
The Rising Power Lawyer Who Sees Class Action Survive Retroactive Assault Read More »
Which Lawyers Got the Cream in the Massive NZ Deal The sale of Fonterra’s global consumer and associated businesses, the Mainland Group, to French dairy giant Lactalis for a reported $4.2 billion was never going to be just a farmer-to-farmer handshake. It turned into one of the most lucrative ticket-clipping exercises for New Zealand and
The Lawyers Behind Fonterra’s $4.2B Mainland Group Sale Read More »
