Jim has a wealth of specialist experience, having been practising employment law for more than 30 years. He helps his clients, who are from a range of industries, develop their employment strategies around common employment processes, assists with compliance work to minimise his clients’ exposure to risk, with a particular focus on Holidays Act issues, and regularly advises on issues arising from mergers and acquisitions.
Jim is a highly skilled and experienced advocate and has a wealth of experience in mediation, the Employment Relations Authority, Employment Court and appellate Courts. Over his career, Jim has acted on a number of leading cases. A particular recent highlight is a Court of Appeal benchmark case on the application of short-term incentive payments under the Holidays Act. A career highlight was appearing in the Privy Council regarding employment jurisdiction, which is the only employment case from New Zealand to ever be heard in the Privy Council.
As well as providing strategic legal advice, Jim is often involved in union disputes and collective agreement issues and is currently advising on one of the first fair pay agreement negotiations. He enjoys getting to know his clients’ businesses and understanding the people behind the issues.