Insight Navigating trade marks in business sales and purchases Business sales and purchases (Transactions) are complex processes that involve a range of financial, legal and strategic considerations. One critical component that often gets overlooked in the whirlwind of high-stake Transactions, are the trade marks. Read more
Insight Supreme Court considers short marriages and nuptial settlements in Lassnig v Zhou The Supreme Court’s latest judgment, Lassnig v Zhou [2025] NZSC 116, is the latest in a series of appellate decisions over the last 15 years that have reconstructed Section 182 of the Family Proceedings Act 1980. The first, Ward v Ward [2009] NZSC 125 restated s 182’s remedial purpose; Clayton v Clayton [2016] NZSC 30 provided the modern analytical framework; and Preston v Preston [2021] NZSC 154 recast that framework as a three-stage inquiry, testing its limits in the difficult territory of blended families, pre-existing trusts and short marriages. Read more
Insight Government announces significant changes to Holidays Act The long-awaited announcement from the government about its review of the Holidays Act 2003 (the Act) has now been made. The existing Act is to be replaced with a new Employment Leave Act (the new Act), which will make significant changes to how leave is accrued and paid. Read more
Insight Do I need a Will? When it comes to Wills, people generally assume two things – firstly, you need a lot of assets to warrant making one. Secondly, when you die your assets and estate automatically passes to your partner and/or family. Neither of these assumptions are necessarily true. Read more
Insight Submissions open for innovative proposed adjudication framework The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is consulting on a “world first” statutory adjudication framework aimed at providing businesses with a fast, efficient and cost-effective alternative to resolve disputes. Modelled on the adjudication framework under the Construction Contracts Act 2002 (CCA), the proposal would transform how civil commercial disputes are handled by implementing a prescribed statutory process. Read more
Insight New Biometric Processing Privacy Code has implications for NZ businesses Earlier this month, the New Zealand Privacy Commissioner introduced the Biometric Processing Privacy Code (Code). The Code is set to come into force on 3 November 2025, although businesses already undertaking biometric processing activities have until 3 August 2026 to comply. Read more
Insight Building consent reforms: move towards proportional liability In a significant move for the construction and legal sectors, the Government has announced its intention to implement the most substantial overhaul of building consent processes since the Building Act came into effect in 2004. Two key announcements were made earlier this week: Read more
Insight Fast paced reform: RMA Amendment Bill to put the brakes on planning processes The Resource Management (Consenting and Other System Changes) Amendment Bill has progressed at pace and passed its third reading on 14 August 2025. The Amendment Bill is part of a series of legislative amendments (along with the Resource Management (Freshwater and Other Matters) Amendment Act), intended to progress certain Government priorities in the resource management space before the complete replacement of the RMA in 2026. Read more
