We advise listed and private companies, private equity and venture capital 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”. A previous 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 former member of the Takeovers Panel and 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
Chair of Angel Association New Zealand
Director of The Todd Corporation
Chair of Suncorp New Zealand
Chair of AFT Pharmaceuticals
Daniel advises on corporate and capital markets transactions, with particular expertise in mid-market M&A, venture capital, Takeovers Code transactions, and complex shareholder arrangements.
Daniel is lead legal adviser to a number of NZX-listed companies, including on listing rule and corporate governance matters.
Daniel is a member of the NZ Markets Disciplinary Tribunal, the independent regulatory body whose role is to consider the conduct of parties regulated by NZX's market rules and determine penalties for breaches of those rules.
Six transactions on which Daniel has advised have won, or been nominated as finalist, for transaction awards at the New Zealand Law Awards (including in the “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” categories).
Daniel is in the elite tier of leading individuals for Corporate and M&A in The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2024, with a client commenting in a previous 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”.
In Chambers Asia-Pacific 2024, clients comment that "he is prompt, efficient and puts me at ease on matters that I am unfamiliar with." Daniel is also recognised for his expertise in public M&A and private equity transactions, and equity capital markets matters.
Daniel is also individually ranked for Capital Markets Law, Corporate Law, and Mergers & Acquisitions Law, in The Best Lawyers in New Zealand™ and for M&A and Governance, and Capital Markets, in Who's Who Legal.
Daniel was a member of the regulatory working group of Capital Markets 2029 (the industry-led review of New Zealand's capital markets sponsored by the Financial Markets Authority and NZX).
Before co-founding Flacks & Wong, Daniel was a senior associate at Bell Gully in Auckland and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP in London.
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
Board member of Auckland Grammar School
Trustee of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra Foundation
Rebecca advises on a broad range of corporate and commercial transactions, as well as regulatory compliance and governance matters.
Rebecca's experience includes advising on all aspects of M&A transactions and shareholder arrangements as well as other commercial contracts and terms, providing regulatory advice (including on AML/CFT matters) and assisting entities with their board charters, compliance documents and policies.
Before joining Flacks & Wong, Rebecca was a senior consultant at AML Solutions and a senior associate at Bell Gully in Auckland.
Qualifications
LLB (Hons), BA, University of Auckland
Admitted
2004, 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