Expert Legal Advice

Background

Michael Mabbett is Special Counsel at Martelli McKegg with over 15 years' experience in dispute resolution, having practised in New Zealand and the United Kingdom (at the London offices of Quinn Emanuel and Steptoe). He acts for a wide range of clients, from individuals and small to medium family businesses through to some of the world's most significant companies and funds, and he has appeared as counsel in almost all the New Zealand courts and in international and domestic arbitration.

Property disputes: Michael regularly assists property owners and developers to manage and resolve disputes with tenants, regulators and insolvency practitioners, among others. He has recently acted on applications under the Property Law Act, enforcement actions under the Resource Management Act and the Overseas Investment Act, negligence claims against advisors, and a range of leasing disputes.

Company disputes: Michael often acts for directors facing actual or potential allegations of breach of duty, and for companies and shareholders in disputes about their respective rights. He has recently acted for the directors of a large construction company defending a significant damages claim. He has given advice to directors concerned about liability, to shareholders in dispute with other shareholders, and on audit negligence. He also regularly acts on insolvency-related applications, such as liquidations.

Trusts, tax and other financial disputes: Michael's background working on large-scale corporate tax litigation, and private equity and M&A disputes, gives him a solid foundation to assist clients with a variety of financial disputes. He has recently acted on several civil fraud matters, allegations made under the Financial Markets Conduct Act, a cross-border trusts dispute, and significant personal tax disputes.

Other cases: Michael's broad experience means he is available to act on most commercial disputes. For example, he has acted on soft IP disputes, including obtaining an injunction to protect confidential information embedded in a gas turbine (Siemens v Stonehill Trustee [2016] NZHC 1710); arbitration-related applications, including successfully seeking leave to appeal an arbitral award (Todd Petroleum Mining v Shell (Petroleum Mining) 20 June 2011, CIV-2010-485-2122); and a complex contractual dispute over the implementation of an ERP IT system (PwC v Zag [2023] NZHC 1470).

Outside of court, Michael is known as a careful and pragmatic lawyer who does his utmost to resolve disputes before they become litigious. He has extensive experience in internal investigations, due diligence, risk analysis and contract negotiations, and has helped clients manage the strategy and organisation of related disputes across multiple forums and jurisdictions. Michael has worked with lawyers and experts across a number of fields and jurisdictions, giving him an excellent network to support complex claims as efficiently as possible.

Michael regularly works with Martelli McKegg's Mandarin and Cantonese speaking staff, and with external counsel, to ensure the firm's Chinese clients receive the best possible litigation advice and representation in a manner that is comfortable and reassuring.

Michael is a member of both the Arbitrators and Mediators Association of New Zealand and the Restructuring and Turnaround Association of New Zealand, and currently sits on The Law Association of New Zealand's Civil Litigation Committee.