case studies

Case study 1 – A new electric train set

KiwiRail has been allocated $500m of government funding to buy a new set of electric trains for Auckland. Our lawyers are part of the procurement team. As well as preparing tender documents and ensuring that interactions with bidders comply with the public sector procurement rules, we have also helped KiwiRail to ensure that all of its stakeholders – Auckland Council, Auckland Transport, NZTA and MoT – are properly consulted. The added complication was that the super city and its agencies weren’t created until 2/3 of the way through the procurement. Public transport infrastructure in Auckland continues to be a major political issue – both at a local and national level. The project team needs to ensure that the tender process is fair and transparent and delivers best value against that backdrop.

Case study 2 – Investing in NZ companies

We have been assisting a several investors to invest in New Zealand companies. This advice includes identifying investment opportunities, working to identify the best investment vehicle structure (usually with tax advisers), setting up those structures, undertaking legal due diligence and  drafting and negotiating acquisition contracts. Our investor clients come from New Zealand and overseas and invest in a range of industries with good growth opportunities.

Case study 3 – Smartfoods takes its muesli to the world

We have helped the Auckland manufacturing innovator, Smartfoods, best known for its range of Vogels® cereals and snacks, to negotiate and agree its distribution arrangements with US and Chinese distributors and for the distribution of overseas products within Australasia. There was added pressure to get these agreements in place so that US and Chinese supermarkets could place orders for shipments to be delivered before Christmas 2010.

Case study 4 – So you want to buy some gas?

Building on Nick and Jeremy’s work with the Maui joint venture over many years, in November 2010 we were asked to draft the rules for a wholesale gas trading market on the Maui pipeline. We worked with the team at Transact Management (who operate the Maui pipeline) and other advisers to complete these new rules before Christmas. The rules needed to be comprehensive enough to deal with the risks and liabilities of trading a commodity that continuously flows through a pipeline network, but simple enough to enable traders to understand their obligations and be comfortable using the market.

Case study 5 – 2 Degrees Mobile “pay as you go” legal services

Answering an SOS call from 2Degrees Mobile team, who were struggling with the many demands of their growing business, we provided an “on demand” extra senior in-house lawyer service while their lawyers are tied up on big projects. Any member of the 2Degrees Mobile legal team can call on us to help with overflow work – either at their office or ours.

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