Advice
Clear, Practical Advice
Ben is known for providing clear, practical and high quality advice that brings to bear his experience with commercial, regulatory and public law problems.
Ben can advise on how to conduct or respond to regulatory investigations and public inquires. He can also assist public agencies making decisions, or private parties seeking to influence them.
Competition, consumer and regulatory matters
Ben has strong established relationships with the New Zealand Commerce Commission and other regulators, having worked in the field for nearly twenty years.
Ben advises on all aspects of New Zealand competition & regulatory law including merger control, cartel investigations, abuse of market power investigations, restrictive trade practices investigations, market studies and sector specific economic regulation.
Ben also advises on all aspects of consumer law, including misleading conduct, substantiation, unfair and unconscionable conduct, and sector specific consumer regulation.
Ben’s work in these areas has covered a wide range of industries, including Construction, Telecommunications, Energy, Pharmaceuticals, Healthcare, Insurance, Financial Services, Media, Transport, Primary Industries, and FMCG.
Judicial review and public decision making
Ben is experienced in public decision making in contentious, high profile and complex environments. He can assist with advice on robust and impartial information gathering, fair and lawful decision making, and dealing with potential challenges.
Investigations and inquiries
Ben can provide advice on conducting or responding to a regulatory investigation, including evidence gathering, witness interviews, and prosecution decision making.
He is also experienced in working with quasi-judicial and administrative inquiries, including Ombudsman investigations.
Disclosure of information
Ben is experienced in working with requests and complaints under the Official Information Act 1982, and Privacy Act 2020. He can also assist with disclosures of confidential or private information.
Law reform
Ben is experienced in the law reform process, including working with government agencies on policy and legislative design, preparing and presenting submissions at Select Committees, and implementation of legislative changes.