Presenters

Jo-Anne Knight, Partner, Simpson Grierson
Jo-Anne is a partner in the commercial litigation group of Simpson Grierson. She specialises in construction litigation. Jo-Anne has over 20 years' experience acting for contractors, principals, local authorities and consultants in the full range of building and infrastructure disputes. Jo-Anne also advises in the negotiation and drafting of construction contracts with particular emphasis on the allocation of risks within construction contracts, security arrangements and providing tailored mechanisms for avoiding disputes and managing disputes that cannot be avoided in the most effective manner suitable to the particular project or industry. Jo-Anne has represented construction parties and local authorities in well over 100 mediations and judicial settlement conferences. She specialises in adjudications and also appears as counsel in the courts, specialist tribunals and in arbitrations covering the full range of construction issues, including payment disputes, construction defects cases and enforcement of performance bonds.


James Cochrane, Partner, Lane Neave
James is a dispute resolution and litigation partner at Lane Neave (Auckland). He has significant banking and finance, insolvency, company law and insurance experience. James is passionate about cryptocurrency / crypto-assets and web3 technology. In addition to working on some of New Zealand’s most notable insolvencies, James has advised a number of parties interested in digital assets including insolvency practitioners; private wealth clients in relation to tax, asset acquisition, structuring, protection and property transfer; and businesses in relation to gaming, crypto-mining, capital raising, structuring / DAOs, and the regulatory landscape. In addition to litigation, James provides commercial advice for a range of clients from individuals and startups through to large multinational corporates. He has a particular interest in fintech and social media related disputes as well as sustainability and corporate social responsibility. James has a Master of Laws (LLM) which he completed with First Class Honours from the University of Auckland. is a member of BlockchainNZ, Restructuring & Turnaround Association of New Zealand (RITANZ) (formerly INSOL) and New Zealand Insurance Law Association (NZILA).