Articles in this report: Reflections on New Zealand; Climate change - more than hot air; The viability of IP; Financial advisors under the spotlight; Duncan Cotterill on international stage (firm profile); Chris Heilbronn Kensington Swan

Duncan Cotterill on international stage

Duncan Cotterill is carving a particularly strong niche in international deals, making the most of its New Zealand and trans-Tasman network.

Transactions capitalising on expertise across more than one city are increasingly common as the demands of clients grow more complex.

To cope with the burgeoning workload, Duncan Cotterill has just announced the merging of its Auckland practice with that of Miller Bradley, appointing Chris Bradley and Mark Lawlor to the partnership. The duo's expertise dovetails nicely with the existing Duncan Cotterill commercial practice - Bradley with his commercial practice and particular interest in franchise law while Lawlor brings employment law specialisation. The latter bolsters Duncan Cotterill's employment team into an especially strong one, particularly following the appointment of high profile Ken Brotherson as a partner in Sydney along with senior associate Aaron Dearden (both formerly of Blake Dawson Waldron). An impressive looking client list includes the likes of R M Williams Group, Strategic Finance, NZ Home Bonds and REM Systems.

Another feather in Sydney's cap is ex Kiwi Neil Scott, (previously Freehills and a partner at Middleton Moore & Bevin) whose addition strengthens the trans-Tasman commercial team.

That trans-Tasman integration arguably allows Duncan Cotterill to better appreciate the subtle differences between the two jurisdictions, which may be lost on some other law firms.

Chief executive Janice Fredric: "Understanding those subtleties ensures there aren't any misunderstandings when dealing with international clients and allows a seamless interpretation of New Zealand and Australian legal systems."

Fredric said Duncan Cotterill's strategic plan has been to focus on the commercial sector, while still catering for our private clients. Sydney and Auckland were earmarked as particular areas in which we wanted to increase our presence.

"That strategy, combined with the strength of our other offices in Christchurch, Wellington and Nelson, is benefiting us and our clients."

It's that sort of vision, which has seen Duncan Cotterill flourish during its 150 years, growing into an influential national and trans-Tasman practice with five offices, 31 partners and 180 staff.

Duncan Cotterill is also expanding its reach to the UK and US with recent instructions. In March 2008 the firm completed a substantial value M&A transaction for Credit Market Analysis, a UK/US based financial software group, with its sale to CME Group (see table). This seems a natural corollary of global markets, with several Duncan Cotterill lawyers having either worked for many years in the London market or remaining qualified to practise in that market. For instance, since joining Duncan Cotterill in 2006, Oliver Roberts, an Associate based in Christchurch, has seen an equal mix of work from both NZ and UK based clients. The time difference between NZ and the UK seems to favour working on the larger transactions with the London based team looking to NZ to come on line to assist overnight in turning documents round during the often frantic deal process. Coupled with the exchange rate advantage in hiring NZ based lawyers Duncan Cotterill is optimistic this trend will continue.

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