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Chanté joined Hesketh Henry in 2021 after graduating from the University of Auckland with a Bcom/LLB (Hons), double majoring in Economics and Accounting. She has a background in the insurance sector, having worked for a major New Zealand insurer for 5 years while completing her degrees.
Chanté’s experience is primarily in trade & transport and insolvency matters. She assists in the maritime and insurance space, advising on charterparty disputes, claims for detention and demurrage, and subrogated cargo recoveries. Her experience also includes work in the forestry sector, advising on contractual disputes for commodity traders, as well as general debt recovery actions on behalf of New Zealand businesses and international carriers.
In 2022, Chanté won first place in the Society of Construction Law Essay Competition with her paper “I See a Red Door and I Want it Painted Black: Disruption, Force Majeure and NZS3910”, which provides an evaluation of force majeure clauses in the construction context.
In 2023 she placed runner-up in the Comité Maritime International essay competition for her paper on the IMO’s Unified Interpretation on the test for breaking the shipowner’s right to limit liability under the LLMC and CLC, described as a “masterly assessment” of the issues considered. She presented her work at the 2023 annual conference of the Maritime Association of Australia and New Zealand.
Chanté frequently appears at both the District and High Court and has been published in the New Zealand Law Journal and Build Law Magazine. She is an active participant in the maritime industry and a member of the Women’s International Shipping and Trade Association (WISTA), the Maritime Law Association of Australia and New Zealand (MLAANZ) and the New Zealand Institute of Credit Management (NZICM).
