Graeme is a skilled corporate and commercial lawyer with over 25 years’ experience acting for clients in the public and private sectors. His expertise is in corporate advisory, commercial contracts, mergers & acquisitions, tendering, privacy and data protection, and public sector compliance.
Graeme’s corporate experience covers advising on entity structures, shareholder and joint venture agreements, constitutions, capital raising/share issues and buybacks, amalgamations, windups, and governance issues and compliance.
His commercial experience includes advising on all types of commercial agreements, including for the sale and purchase of businesses, confidentiality, services, supply and distribution, and providing due diligence advice on agreements.
Graeme has a particular specialty in technology (including telecommunications); advising on all types of contracts, licensing arrangements, website terms of business, privacy policies, and data protection and cyber-security issues. He also advises on regulatory compliance when using technology, such as marketing communications and electronic signatures on documents.
In the public sector, Graeme’s experience includes advising on statutory bodies’ powers, Crown Entities Act duties and financial powers, official information and public record retention obligations, and legislative drafting and interpretation.
Graeme’s clients relish the opportunity to involve him in their projects to achieve their commercial outcomes by focusing on solutions and mitigating risks. Graeme has acted for suppliers and customers, large corporates, Government departments, Crown Entities, SMEs and startups. Projects include developing commercial terms for New Zealand’s LPG infrastructure, the sale and purchase of energy and technology assets, establishing Aerospace New Zealand as an incorporated society, and some of New Zealand’s most exciting technology projects. Within his technology specialty, projects have included ERP and Internet of Things implementations, mobile apps and using drones.
For over a decade, Graeme has been the author of the Lexis Nexis New Zealand Forms and Precedents chapter on Companies. This chapter provides both commentary and precedents for company incorporation and status, capital and securities.
Graeme is ranked in technology in global law directories Chambers Global (since 2008) and Best Lawyers (since 2019).
