Judges’ comments include: “A significant transaction, with a high degree of complexity and innovation; A very large and complex transaction with a degree of innovation and completed under considerable pressure; An important deal with a novel solution; Large scale, highly complex and innovative deal.”

Judges’ comments include: “A complex, impressive deal; A ground breaking innovative transaction with a unique organisation which is unlikely to be repeated in nature; A landmark for the future; This complex, ground-breaking transaction required innovative, original legal techniques and enables Fonterra to operate sustainably into the future.”

Judges’ comments include: “A very complex and innovative project financing transaction – with important green credentials and heavy cross-border aspects; An impressive deal as to financial value as well as the breadth of practice area and parties involved; Clear winner in terms of size, complexity and innovation; The complexity and navigation of the climate imperatives made this deal stand out.”

Judges’ comments include: “A very large deal with a significant number of complex elements, many of which will have been new to NZ; The size, multi-jurisdictional dimension and complexity of this deal meant that it stood out from the others in this category; Very impressive large, global and complex M&A transaction”

Judges’ comments include: “A complex and large restructure and sale of an iconic brand, involving challenging circumstances; The complexity and navigation of the challenging issues made this nomination stand out.”

Judges’ comments include: “A mid-sized deal, but very complex and used innovative processes to get over the line; Clearly a complex deal with a wide range of aspects to deal with; Standout across the board”

Judges’ comments include: “Impressive achievements over the year; Clear examples given of innovation and leadership; Excellent work to establish a new role and undertake significant work over the last year; Innovative, passionate and a key contributor to the organisation at all levels.”

Judges’ comments include: “Huge efforts across some hard times and difficult events; A stand-out submission; Impressive leader and lawyer; The legal challenges James has had to lead over the year are complex and fast evolving.”

Judges’ comments include: “A skillful team working in a complex area, one of major importance to NZ; An exceptional team with high impact across the business; Strong focus on innovation and technology, as well as submissions on law changes, sets them apart; Clear examples of the breadth and complexity of their work; Impressive array of transactions across the judging period; Involvement in complex and significant transactions both in NZ and overseas; Very impressive scale and complexity of transactions, requiring diverse legal knowledge and expertise”

Judges’ comments include: “A great team undertaking work on a global scale; Very impressive team with a long list of achievements on important projects – clearly high performers; Involved in many complex transactions, good innovation and strong culture; The extent and breadth of work, in addition to the quality, is absolutely remarkable.”

Judges’ comments include: “A team which works well on complex matters, with a leading reputation; Leaders in their field contributing to the wider profession and committed to excellent outcomes; Good range of client projects and pro bono work; Significant expertise in employment law and involvement in complex litigation; Wide range of specialist work, with a strong pro bono and community support programme”

Judges’ comments include: “Skilled work on a wide range of cases and for an impressive range of clients; Uniformly high calibre examples of work”

Judges’ comments include: “Top of its field; An excellent submission. Well referenced and supported; Clearly market leaders in terms of expertise; A broad range of expertise in the IP space with an emphasis on being client and solutions-focused over the last 12 months; A wide variety of complex work, undertaken by a capable and invested team; Locally-owned and continuing to take on the competition with excellent results”

Judges’ comments include: “A class above; An impressive list of transactions undertaken for key clients in the property & construction sector; Market leading expertise; TBB experience and credentials are outstanding; Un-paralleled property and construction specialist.”

Judges’ comments include: “A strong and growing team that have demonstrated innovation in legal tech; Impressive growth and involvement in key cases over recent period; Strong specialist expertise and recognised as the market leader in insurance law.”

Judges’ comments include: “A stellar reputation and continued excellence challenging the traditional law firm model; quickly developed an impressive client base through carving a unique space in the market; a truly innovative firm offering differentiated service; Top quality”

Judges’ comments include: “A comprehensive offering with a true focus on wellbeing; A stand out in the category; Clear focus on people and what is important including leadership, career development, flexibility, well-being and psychological safety; multi-faceted programmes offered covering the whole range of needs; they really do put their people first and have a very caring attitude. The care they provided during and post lockdowns was very impressive indeed.”

Judges’ comments include: “Removal of fee targets for young lawyers and salary increases is fantastic; reshaped their employee experience to meet the needs of the new normal, updating and re-thinking how they look after their people; The initiatives put in place to reshape the firm have had tangible results and go to the core of allowing people to bring their best selves to work.”

Judges’ comments include: “Breadth of practice and clear industry regard; Community focus as well as excellent practice; Clearly a quality mediator with outstanding credentials; submission addressed all elements of the judging criteria and importantly there were tangible examples that spoke to the quality, breadth, and complexity of mediations Mark mediates; Impressive list of achievements.”

Judges’ comments include: “As well as having a full caseload of complex matters, Anastasiya has also applied her skills to a cause she is passionate about to seek the right outcomes; Extremely competitive category but this nominee stood out for achievements both within and outside their work environment”

Judges’ comments include: “A true industry leader and innovator; championed an innovative alternative law firm where the team are able to thrive; Passion and dedication for new ways of delivering legal services that are innovative and people centered; Tough market to compete in and has consistently grown.”

Judges’ comments include: “Exceptional on all fronts, in particular, leadership and a commitment to change; combination of vision, increase in financial performance and other broader initiatives; Focus on sustainability and people is making the difference; Outstanding performance”

Judges’ comments include: “a big, far-ranging and innovative effort for a small firm; An excellent example of living diversity and inclusion values, both within the firm and out in the community; Really impressive initiatives; unrivalled excellence”