Bell Gully’s New And Notable Senior Appointments For 2023

Bell Gully is delighted to announce the appointment of five new partners, three special counsel, and four senior associates for 2023. Bell Gully’s new senior appointments represent some of the best legal talent in Aotearoa New Zealand. The five new partners are experienced banking and finance lawyers Sarah Anderson-Butler, Zac Kedgley-Foot, Sam Dykes, employment lawyer Rosemary Wooders and litigation lawyer Alix Boberg.

“We are pleased to welcome Sarah, Zac, Sam, Rosemary and Alix to the partnership. They have all contributed significantly to Bell Gully, working on some of the largest and most complex matters with local and international clients, and adding to the depth of Bell Gully’s partnership," Bell Gully chair and partner Andrew Petersen said.

The internal promotions of three new special counsel – experienced projects and real estate lawyer Elena Chang, tax lawyer Hayden Roberts and corporate lawyer Melissa Ahlefeldt add to Bell Gully’s market-leading legal expertise.

In addition the firm has promoted four senior associates – employment lawyer Anna Codlin, resource management lawyer Ellie Taffs, tax lawyer Savannah Feyter and corporate lawyer Philip Zander – continuing the firm’s long standing tradition of nurturing and developing internal talent.

Partners

Sarah Anderson-Butler – Banking and finance partner

Sarah is a banking and finance lawyer with vast international experience advising both borrowers and lenders. Sarah has substantial experience covering both general corporate lending and lending on all classes of real estate assets (investment and development facilities), with particular expertise on property portfolio acquisitions of logistics, data centre and hotel and leisure sector asset classes, operating company/property company transactions, commercial and residential development facilities and senior/mezzanine debt structures and intercreditor arrangements.

Zac Kedgley-Foot – Banking and finance partner

Zac is a specialist banking and finance lawyer, experienced in advising on a broad range of banking, debt capital markets and derivatives transactions and financial services regulation. He advises on domestic and international banking and capital markets transactions including structured, acquisition, infrastructure, project, corporate and leveraged financings and on the regulation of financial products, services and markets in New Zealand.

Sam Dykes – Banking and finance partner

Sam is an internationally experienced lawyer who specialises in banking and finance transactions. Sam advises on a wide variety of financing transactions including acquisition finance, property finance, project finance and general syndicated and bilateral lending. He also performs a key role supporting the corporate team on M&A transactions.

Rosemary Wooders – Employment partner

Rosemary is an experienced employment lawyer and provides advice to clients across a wide range of industries. Rosemary has worked as an employment lawyer in New Zealand and London. She advises employers and senior executives on a wide variety of transactional, contentious and advisory employment matters including personal grievances and disputes, collective bargaining matters, restraints of trade, team move matters, absence management, redundancy and performance issues, and negotiated exits. She also advises on health and safety and privacy matters.

Alix Boberg – litigation and dispute resolution partner

Alix acts for clients in complex commercial disputes and regulatory investigations, with particular expertise in corporate crime, fraud and financial regulation. She advises clients facing contentious issues, including regulatory investigations and enforcement, commercial litigation and class actions. Her work in the past year has spanned clients in the banking, asset management, insurance, manufacturing, transport, energy and construction sectors. Alix is known for her thoughtful, timely advice and clear judgment in managing risks.

Special Counsel

Elena Chang – Projects and real estate special counsel

Elena specialises in a broad range of property transactions including advising on overseas investment in New Zealand. She has experience advising overseas investors buying real estate assets in New Zealand, including assisting them with overseas investment applications under the New Zealand Overseas Investment Act 2005. Elena is also a leading specialist in New Zealand on large and complex freehold, leasehold, unit title and cross lease subdivisions.

Hayden Roberts – Tax special counsel

Hayden is a specialist income tax lawyer with experience in tax disputes and litigation. He advises on all aspects of New Zealand income tax law. He has experience advising domestic and foreign clients on various corporate tax law issues, including those arising in mergers and acquisitions, financing arrangements, securitisation structures and employee remuneration arrangements.

Melissa Ahlefeldt – Corporate special counsel

Melissa specialises in commercial contracting and legal advice, including all aspects of tendering and procurement from designing a tender process to negotiating contracts. She has advised on a range of significant procurements, privatisations and outsourcings in areas such as information and communications technology, health, defence and social and economic infrastructure.

Senior Associates

Anna Codlin – Employment senior associate

Anna is an experienced employment lawyer who advises clients across a range of industries in relation to both contentious and non-contentious employment issues. She has broad experience supporting businesses in relation to employment related litigation, advisory and transactional matters. Anna has also worked as an employment lawyer in both the UK and Australia giving her a unique understanding of the complexities faced by multinational clients, including with respect to cross-border issues and projects.

Ellie Taffs – Resource management senior associate

Ellie is an experienced resource management lawyer with experience advising clients across a range of industries. She advises on various resource management matters and has consenting experience in a range of industries, including water takes, ports, quarrying and wind farms. Ellie has an honours degree in engineering which enables her to quickly appreciate project issues, and to become the key legal contact in a consenting team for particularly technical issues.

Savannah Feyter – Tax senior associate

Savannah is specialist income tax lawyer, with experience across a range of industries and transactions. She advises on all aspects of New Zealand income tax law. Savannah has a strong interest in tax disputes and advocacy and has assisted a number of taxpayers in obtaining binding and non-binding rulings from the IRD regarding a broad range of tax issues.

Philip Zander – Corporate senior associate

Philip is an experienced corporate and commercial lawyer who specialises in mergers and acquisitions, and infrastructure and projects. He has expertise in corporate and commercial matters, including mergers and acquisitions, services agreements, standard form contracts, government procurement and Public Private Partnership transactions. Philip has also been involved with a majority of the most complex and significant oil and gas transactions in New Zealand as part of the Bell Gully team.

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