When you look at some of the great moments in New Zealand history, where hardship and adversity are overcome, many of them are accomplished by people working closely together. Take for example the New Zealand men’s double skulls London Olympics gold medallists Nathan Cohen and Joseph Sullivan. Neither would have beaten the world’s best athletes by themselves, yet together they took their place in the record books. There is something powerful about partnerships that collaborate to achieve results.
The
Canterbury earthquakes have had a major impact on all the citizens and businesses
of Christchurch. Every day their effects continue to be felt physically,
economically and emotionally and we now have our own Olympic Games to win in
terms of creating the new city, its infrastructure and supporting its
people. More resources will be required to
support the recovery than Christchurch can supply on its own. The only way this
is going to be achieved is through collaboration.
A
great example of two businesses taking the initiative to combine their
strengths, people, skills and expertise is the alliance between local law firm
Lane Neave and national law firm Minter Ellison Rudd Watts. This alliance is to
the obvious benefit of both the people and businesses of Christchurch by
combining the capacity and the capability to meet the demands of the recovery.
Rather than an “outsourcing model” giving a local firm access to a greater
number of lawyers to cope with excess demand, this collaboration recognises the
need for clients to have access to the best resources, wherever they happen to
be located.
Lane
Neave and Minter Ellison Rudd Watts realise the recovery of Christchurch is not
going to be accomplished without the support and efforts of the far wider
community at a national and international level. The rise of collaborations
that span regions will be fundamental to success.
Lane
Neave is a well established and highly respected law firm in the Christchurch
and South Island business communities. As a local firm they have a real
understanding of the adversity faced by the people of Christchurch. This is coupled
with their deep legal expertise, knowledge and passion for the recovery, which
leaves them superbly placed to help get Christchurch back up and running. With
two offices in Christchurch and an office in Queenstown they are on
the ground day to day, shoulder to shoulder with the people of Canterbury
assisting them to navigate the complex legal issues surrounding the recovery of
the region.
Minter
Ellison Rudd Watts brings some extra muscle and resource to the alliance. It’s
recognised as one of the top law firms in the country and has the benefit of
drawing upon the vast resources of the Minter Ellison Legal Group, which have
offices in Australia, Europe and Asia. Being
based in Auckland and Wellington, they are also well positioned to tap into
their relationship networks within Government and the large corporates in the
banking and construction sectors to assist with mobilising the recovery, adding
an additional dimension and level of expertise needed to complete entire
transactions.
Lane Neave and Minter Ellison Rudd Watts are already collaborating on providing information to the Canterbury business community through a series of highly successful seminars. The alliance between these two well respected firms is ultimately about harnessing the power of collaboration to deliver the best legal advice for the people of Christchurch as they transition to an exciting new city.
