We advise listed and private companies, private equity funds, entrepreneurs, and start-ups on buying, selling and investing in businesses, raising capital in the public and private markets and on their important commercial transactions.
We provide strategic, corporate governance and regulatory advice to boards of directors, senior executives and corporates.
We advise on general corporate and commercial matters.
Our directors, David Flacks and Daniel Wong, together have many years' top‑tier domestic and international experience across all areas of corporate and commercial law including:
Although we specialise in corporate law, we regularly access other areas of expertise as required to provide the full range of legal services. We take responsibility for project managing those other experts so that you have a single point of contact
David is a highly-respected, leading New Zealand corporate lawyer. He has a reputation for providing clear, concise advice, and for achieving pragmatic, commercial outcomes.
David was a partner at Bell Gully for many years, except for four years in the 1990s when he was a member of the senior executive team, general counsel and company secretary of Carter Holt Harvey.
Clients have commented (through Chambers Asia-Pacific, a respected global legal directory) that David “uses his broad international and in‑house experience to bring a pragmatic, commercial perspective to his work” and “is affable and easy to deal with, but not a pushover”. The 2015 edition refers to David’s “unflappable nature,” and notes that “when you've got emotional shareholders and a process is very convoluted, he can just walk through the middle of it; he reads people and tone brilliantly”.
David is a recent former member of the Takeovers Panel and recent Chair of the NZ Markets Disciplinary Tribunal.
Qualifications
BA (Cantab), MA (Cantab), St John’s College, Cambridge University
Admitted
1979, England and Wales (non-practising)
1985, New Zealand
Current governance roles
Director of The Todd Corporation
Chair of Suncorp New Zealand
Chair of Harmoney Corp
Chair of AFT Pharmaceuticals
David is a highly-respected, leading New Zealand corporate lawyer. He has a reputation for providing clear, concise advice, and for achieving pragmatic, commercial outcomes.
David was a partner at Bell Gully for many years, except for four years in the 1990s when he was a member of the senior executive team, general counsel and company secretary of Carter Holt Harvey.
Clients have commented (through Chambers Asia-Pacific, a respected global legal directory) that David “uses his broad international and in‑house experience to bring a pragmatic, commercial perspective to his work” and “is affable and easy to deal with, but not a pushover”. The 2015 edition refers to David’s “unflappable nature,” and notes that “when you've got emotional shareholders and a process is very convoluted, he can just walk through the middle of it; he reads people and tone brilliantly”.
David is a recent former member of the Takeovers Panel and recent Chair of the NZ Markets Disciplinary Tribunal.
Qualifications
BA (Cantab), MA (Cantab), St John’s College, Cambridge University
Admitted
1979, England and Wales (non-practising)
1985, New Zealand
Current governance roles
Director of The Todd Corporation
Chair of Suncorp New Zealand
Chair of Harmoney Corp
Chair of AFT Pharmaceuticals
Daniel advises on a broad spectrum of corporate and capital markets transactions, with particular expertise on mid-market M&A, Takeovers Code transactions, complex joint venture and shareholder arrangements, and innovative forms of capital raising (including social bonds and equity crowdfunding).
Daniel is legal adviser to a number of NZX-listed companies, including on listing rule and corporate governance matters.
Five transactions on which Daniel has advised have won or been nominated as finalist across “M&A Deal of the Year”, “Mid-Market Deal of the Year”, “Capital Markets Deal of the Year” and “Consumer, Media and Tech Deal of the Year” at the last five New Zealand Law Awards.
Daniel is in the elite tier of leading individuals for Corporate and M&A in The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2021, with a client commenting in the 2020 edition that he "is the best legal partner in our market in my opinion. He can be credited with drafting documentation to solve the needs of clients on several occasions when other legal partners were unable to solve the issues”.
Daniel is praised by clients for being "incredibly responsive and proactive" in Chambers Asia-Pacific 2021, which also recognises his expertise in public M&A, private equity transactions and equity capital markets matters.
Before co-founding Flacks & Wong, Daniel was a senior associate at Bell Gully in Auckland and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP in London.
Daniel regularly presents to lawyers on corporate, and capital markets, law.
Qualifications
LLB (First Class Honours), BCA (Finance and Management), Victoria University of Wellington
Admitted
2002, New Zealand
2008, England and Wales (non-practising)
Current governance roles
Trustee of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra Foundation
Director of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
Daniel advises on a broad spectrum of corporate and capital markets transactions, with particular expertise on mid-market M&A, Takeovers Code transactions, complex joint venture and shareholder arrangements, and innovative forms of capital raising (including social bonds and equity crowdfunding).
Daniel is legal adviser to a number of NZX-listed companies, including on listing rule and corporate governance matters.
Five transactions on which Daniel has advised have won or been nominated as finalist across “M&A Deal of the Year”, “Mid-Market Deal of the Year”, “Capital Markets Deal of the Year” and “Consumer, Media and Tech Deal of the Year” at the last five New Zealand Law Awards.
Daniel is in the elite tier of leading individuals for Corporate and M&A in The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2021, with a client commenting in the 2020 edition that he "is the best legal partner in our market in my opinion. He can be credited with drafting documentation to solve the needs of clients on several occasions when other legal partners were unable to solve the issues”.
Daniel is praised by clients for being "incredibly responsive and proactive" in Chambers Asia-Pacific 2021, which also recognises his expertise in public M&A, private equity transactions and equity capital markets matters.
Before co-founding Flacks & Wong, Daniel was a senior associate at Bell Gully in Auckland and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP in London.
Daniel regularly presents to lawyers on corporate, and capital markets, law.
Qualifications
LLB (First Class Honours), BCA (Finance and Management), Victoria University of Wellington
Admitted
2002, New Zealand
2008, England and Wales (non-practising)
Current governance roles
Trustee of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra Foundation
Director of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
Katie is an experienced corporate and commercial lawyer, having advised on a range of M&A, private equity and capital markets transactions as well as corporate governance matters.
Katie regularly advises on consumer and privacy law matters, sponsorship, franchising and other complex commercial arrangements.
Before joining Flacks & Wong, Katie was a senior associate at Herbert Smith Freehills in London and a solicitor at Bell Gully in Auckland. Katie has also undertaken secondments at Carter Holt Harvey, assisting its business units with a range of commercial agreements and transactions.
Qualifications
LLB, BCom, University of Auckland
Admitted
2011, New Zealand
Katie is an experienced corporate and commercial lawyer, having advised on a range of M&A, private equity and capital markets transactions as well as corporate governance matters.
Katie regularly advises on consumer and privacy law matters, sponsorship, franchising and other complex commercial arrangements.
Before joining Flacks & Wong, Katie was a senior associate at Herbert Smith Freehills in London and a solicitor at Bell Gully in Auckland. Katie has also undertaken secondments at Carter Holt Harvey, assisting its business units with a range of commercial agreements and transactions.
Qualifications
LLB, BCom, University of Auckland
Admitted
2011, New Zealand
Feel free to give one of us a call and let’s chat over a coffee. We don’t charge for an initial discussion and we’ll be upfront on what we think the issues are and whether we can assist.
Contact details for our lawyers appear on the ‘Our team’ section above. Alternatively, please contact us by completing this form.
Level 5, Shortland Chambers Building
70 Shortland Street
PO Box 591
Auckland 1140
New Zealand