The newly promoted lawyers have been vital to the firm's continued growth
Dentons Kensington Swan has promoted seven lawyers to senior associate as it continues to grow its practice in New Zealand.
According to the firm, the newly promoted lawyers have played key roles in its continued growth and success by collectively contributing their technical expertise and strong leadership skills and offering the highest standard of client service.
The seven new senior associates, who all operate from the firm’s Auckland office, are as follows:
Charlotte Evans is a member of the employment and labour team. She advises clients on contentious and non-contentious employment and health and safety issues.
She has been involved in various complex litigation matters, including a landmark claim before the Employment Court regarding a contractual mistake issue. She also deals with accepted enforceable undertakings.
Saiya Guo is part of the corporate and commercial team. She specialises in M&A, corporate governance, and commercial contracting. She regularly advises on public private partnerships and commercial aspects of major infrastructure projects. She has worked with numerous clients across various industries, including retail, banking, construction, manufacturing, healthcare, and media industries.
Nicole Thompson belongs to the dispute resolution team. She has worked on a wide array of commercial disputes, including contract, property, construction, banking, and insolvency.
She has represented clients before the District Court and the High Court. Prior to joining Dentons Kensington Swan, she worked as in-house legal counsel for Royal Bank of Scotland in the UK. She was also once with Simpson Grierson as a senior solicitor.
Gunes Haksever is a commercial media and technology lawyer. He is currently admitted to the Istanbul Bar Association in Turkey, and having worked with organisations across the Middle East, Turkey, and New Zealand, he has helped clients deal with multi-jurisdictional issues.
In particular, he provides advice on matters related to content development, media acquisitions, content licensing, infrastructure and IT acquisitions, outsourcing projects, procurement, and media law compliance.
Joy Wang is a member of the corporate and commercial team. She handles various corporate matters, including M&A, overseas investments, and commercial contracts.
She regularly advises offshore clients on acquisition or divestment of sensitive assets. Moreover, she has experience navigating the intricacies of the Overseas Investment Act and the process of applying for consent to invest in New Zealand.
Samira Boock is part of the private wealth team. She has extensive expertise in trust-related taxation, pre-migration tax planning, administration and governance of domestic and offshore trusts, and family office design and execution.
In addition, she helps clients resolve family disputes involving the interplay between trusts and relationship dissolution, as well as estate claims. She is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners – a global professional association for practitioners who specialise in family inheritance and succession planning.
Stacey Fletcher belongs to the employment and labour team. She works on a broad range of employment matters, such as drafting of employment agreements and company policies, personal grievances, company reorganisations, bullying and harassment issues, management of performance, investigations, disciplinary matters, and terminations.
She has acted for clients in employment-related disputes before the Employment Relations Authority and the Employment Court.
“I am particularly proud of this group of exceptional young lawyers who have continued to meet and exceed our client’s expectations while having to spend a large portion of that time working remotely,” Dentons Kensington Swan CEO Charles Spillane said. “It’s a testament to their ability to handle challenges and the firm’s solid pipeline of talented lawyers.”
