Immerse yourself in 8 key areas of concern for in-house counsel, and explore essential, recent legal and technological developments that will assist you to manage the many facets of your role. Gain helpful tips on how to support the board to make effective decisions, how to protect your LLP if you have a cyber breach and the main legal and contractual issues surrounding procurement of technology. Understand climate related disclosures, deciding whether to self-report to minimise the risks, including of a class action and contractual risk management. Be updated on current employment law concerns and the regulatory focus of the FMA.

Presenters

Nicola Swan, Partner, Chapman Tripp
Nicola is a Partner in Chapman Tripp’s Dispute Resolution and Climate Risk practices based in Wellington and leads the firm's International Law practice. She has a significant focus on sustainability and climate change risk and reporting and is recognized as a thought-leader in this area. Nicola has expertise in climate related disclosure (CRD) reporting implementation, having advised both government actors and regulated entities (listed issuers, banks, insurers, fund managers) as the legislation and associated climate standards have been developing. Nicola is currently acting for a range of New Zealand banks, fund managers, insurers and listed issuers on climate risk assessment, CRD, emissions targets, and related liability/litigation risk. Nicola is also regularly approached to develop ESG policies, codes of conduct, and to advise on sustainability governance. Nicola is currently acting for several New Zealand corporates in climate related and greenwashing litigation currently before the courts. In the last three years, Nicola has co-authored published New Zealand legal opinions on fiduciary duties and obligations on boards of directors, fund managers and trustees to consider climate risk to businesses and investments, and several guides for company directors, fund managers and trustees to consider climate risk to businesses and investments. Nicola is recognized in Chambers Asia Pacific 2024, Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2024 and Who’s Who Legal: Arbitration 2024. Nicola was also listed in NZ Lawyer's Elite Women List 2023.


Dr Maria Pozza, Director and Principal Lawyer, Gravity Lawyers
Dr Pozza is the Director and Principal lawyer of Gravity Lawyers. Her expertise includes: Commercial international space law, international military space law, domestic legislative frameworks over military and commercial uses in space as well as international law space law dealing with armed conflict and aggressive uses. She provides expertise in legal and technical frameworks concerning cybersecurity and IT, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), and technology laws. She has been the course coordinator for the University of Victoria’s Cyber Security and International Relations, as well as a lecturer for the International Relations course. As a prolific publisher, Dr Pozza has edited and published a book on Risk Management in Outer Space Activities – An Australian and New Zealand Perspective, as part of her Book Series titled Space Law and Policy. She has been involved in the development of numerous space law publications that range from academic articles, professional publications, guidance materials, and books. Dr Pozza has supervised at master’s level and is currently supervising at the PhD level with the University of Otago. Her expertise on international and national space law, is often called upon by a wide range of domestic and international clients and institutions.


Simon Mitchell KC, Hobson Chambers
Simon Mitchell has worked as a litigation lawyer since 1990, specialising in family and employment law. He enjoys the challenge of both areas of law, as they focus on people and solving relationship problems. In his family law work, he finds it rewarding to assist individuals through difficult transitions in their lives. His practice covers domestic violence, child custody matters, and property disputes. For twenty years, he has acted for children in the Family Court. In his employment practice, he handles a full range of disputes and brings strong litigation skills while also prioritising resolution and negotiation whenever possible. He represents workers, employers, and unions. He regularly appears in the Family Court and various employment institutions, including the Mediation Service, Employment Relations Authority, Employment Court, and Court of Appeal. His expertise is widely recognised, as evidenced by frequent invitations from the Law Society to present at seminars and conferences on his areas of specialisation. Simon Mitchell was appointed King’s Counsel in November 2022.


Liam Mason, Executive Director, Evaluation & Oversight & General Counsel, Financial Markets Authority
Liam is responsible for a broad range of audit, risk, legal and governance matters along with evaluating the effectiveness of regulatory interventions and activity. He is also the FMA General Counsel. Liam has been with the FMA since its inception. He has extensive experience in securities law and corporate governance matters, advising on securities and financial services law and policy, Crown entity governance and legal compliance. Liam has previously led frontline teams overseeing the FMA’s compliance frameworks, licensing, knowledge management and intelligence, and fintech functions.


Emma Peart, Senior Associate, Chapman Tripp
Emma is a commercial litigation and arbitration lawyer with a particular focus on advising and representing clients in banking and financial services matters. She advises and represents public and private sector clients on complex commercial and regulatory matters and disputes. Emma is experienced in representing clients in regulatory investigations, court proceedings and alternative dispute resolution including arbitration. Emma advises a broad range of clients on the implications of key commercial and regulatory legislation such as the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act (CCCFA), sanctions regimes, AML/CFT Act, Contract and Commercial Law Act, Commerce Act, FMCA, and the Fair Trading Act. She is also part of Chapman Tripp’s leading international law team and is experienced in international and cross-border proceedings. After undertaking post-graduate study at the University of Cambridge, Emma worked in the Global Disputes team in London for a leading international law firm.


Tracey Cross, Expert Facilitator, Grounded Governance
Tracey brings over 25 years of experience in financial services regulatory compliance, corporate governance, and strategy. She is an Independent Director of AIA New Zealand, Mint Asset Management and Tony Mounce Mortgages and is a Chartered Member of the Institute of Directors. Previously a partner of global business law firm DLA Piper New Zealand, Tracey now practices on her own account. Tracey is passionate about governance with purpose and good conduct and culture as key to competitive and sustainable businesses. Her passion for purpose drives her interest in empowering women. She was the founding Chair of DLA Piper’s Leadership Alliance for Women and is the current chair of Women in Super and co-chair of the Financial Services Council’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion committee – a founding member of both initiatives. Tracey mentors and regularly presents at financial services industry conferences, providing tailored training to clients and Boards.


Patrick Learmonth, Partner, Stace Hammond Lawyers
Patrick Learmonth is a partner in the Auckland office of Stace Hammond Lawyers and specialises in advising business clients on a wide range of legal issues relevant to their businesses. He has over 30 years experience advising on corporate, commercial and trust matters with particular expertise in company law and insolvency, mergers and acquisitions, restructuring, succession planning, joint ventures and shareholder agreements, trust law and trustee advice, intellectual property - licensing, copyright, and franchising, information technology - software development and licensing and websites and trade practices, fair trading and anti competitive behaviour in business markets, privacy law and mediation of commercial and trustee disputes. Patrick acts for a wide range of business clients, local and international, particularly in the consumer product retail, wholesale and manufacturing sectors and the IT industry. Patrick is a member of the New Zealand Law Society Complaints Service Committees and also convener for the Franchise Association of New Zealand complaints committee. Prior to joining Stace Hammond Patrick was a partner for over 20 years at the Auckland office of national law firm, Kensington Swan.


Campbell Featherstone, Partner, Dentons
Campbell is a partner in Dentons Wellington’s corporate and commercial team. He provides advice on all corporate and commercial matters including procurement projects, privacy, IT agreements (including SaaS, agile and waterfall software development, and traditional licensing), IP licensing and consumer and marketing law compliance. In doing so, he is frequently engaged to assist his clients to draft, negotiate and advise on complex commercial arrangements – often with multiple moving parts. He has significant international experience, having previously worked in the UK and the Middle East before returning to New Zealand in 2018, and advises clients based the world over. As a result, he has been exposed to many different drafting and negotiating styles and strategies.


Anthony Cooke, Partner, Clyde & Co
Anthony’s role as a specialist in cyber security management encompasses a broad spectrum of responsibilities, from developing crisis response strategies and engaging with regulators to addressing data protection issues throughout the entire cyber incident lifecycle. He is a pivotal figure in Clyde & Co's New Zealand operations, having served as the lead data protection advisor on some of the most significant breaches in New Zealand and the APAC region. His efforts are instrumental in shaping the firm’s offerings in these areas. Anthony retains global experience, with a strong background in advising on e-commerce, telecommunications, privacy, and data security regulations across different continents. While in Sydney, he focused on Australian privacy and data security frameworks; in London, he navigated European data protection regimes and compliance programs. In New Zealand, he specialises in data protection and privacy compliance, safeguarding health, financial, and commercial data, and managing significant public sector and corporate matters related to these areas. Anthony excels in implementing robust technical and operational solutions at the enterprise level. He has led responses to numerous cybersecurity incidents, including high-profile data breaches and complex cases of ransomware and business interruption. Anthony also played a role in aligning New Zealand's privacy legislation with international standards, specifically the ISO/IEC 27701. Further, his qualifications span multiple jurisdictions, holding legal qualifications in both Australia and New Zealand, and he is a Certified Information Privacy Professional in Europe. Additionally, Anthony holds a Practitioner Certificate in Data Protection (UK) and contributes to numerous publications, including guidance for One Trust Guidance.