Welcome to Flacks & Wong.
Your corporate law experts.
A snapshot of what we do
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.
We are proud winners of "Boutique Law Firm of the Year" at the New Zealand Law Awards 2019.
We are a specialist corporate law firm based in Auckland, New Zealand.
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:
- Buying, selling and investing in businesses, including Takeovers Code transactions
- Capital raisings, including start-up funding, equity crowdfunding, venture capital and IPOs
- Strategic and corporate governance advice
- Resolving board, and shareholder, disputes and ownership issues
- Joint ventures, shareholders’ arrangements and other commercial transactions
- Advising on financial markets regulatory investigations
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
As well as our corporate law expertise:
- We are described by clients as "agile and responsive", "boasting technical excellence and industry knowhow'" and "highly professional, yet approachable and accommodating to a wide range of client needs" (The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2020)
- We are known for "offering a comprehensive M&A and ECM practice" and handling "the full range of acquisitions, joint ventures, IPOs and capital raising" (Chambers Asia-Pacific 2020)
- We are highly respected for our long-standing track record in completing M&A, and capital markets, transactions
- We have a reputation for providing clear, and concise, solutions-focused advice
- We have deep relationships with New Zealand capital markets regulators and participants
- We offer access to senior, experienced lawyers only
- We support the next generation of lawyers through our funding of the Flacks & Wong Prize in Commercial Law at The University of Auckland and the Flacks & Wong Prize in Company Law at the Victoria University of Wellington
Our expertise is independently recognised:
- Finalist for "Boutique Law Firm of the Year" and "Deal Team of the Year (<100 Lawyers)" at each of the last four New Zealand Law Awards (2020, 2019, 2018 and 2017)
- Leading firm for Corporate and M&A in The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2020
- David Flacks and Daniel Wong are each in the elite tier of leading individuals for Corporate and M&A in The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2020
- Leading firm for Corporate/Commercial in Chambers Asia-Pacific 2020
- David Flacks and Daniel Wong are each individually ranked for Corporate/Commercial in Chambers Asia-Pacific 2020
- Winner of "Boutique Law Firm of the Year" at the New Zealand Law Awards 2019
- Winner of "Mid-Market Deal of the Year" at the New Zealand Law Awards 2016
David Flacks
Director
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
Chair of NZX’s Regulatory Governance Committee
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
Chair of NZX’s Regulatory Governance Committee
Daniel Wong
Director
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 lead 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 2020, with a client commenting 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 for being "hugely commercial" and a "thoughtful and strategic adviser" in Chambers Asia-Pacific, which also recognises his expertise in joint ventures, strategic investments, capital raising and M&A transactions.
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 lead 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 2020, with a client commenting 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 for being "hugely commercial" and a "thoughtful and strategic adviser" in Chambers Asia-Pacific, which also recognises his expertise in joint ventures, strategic investments, capital raising and M&A transactions.
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 Green
Senior Associate
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
The directors of Flacks & Wong have advised:
- SeaDragon on various matters, including transactions regulated by the Takeovers Code and/or the NZX Listing Rules, an NZX waiver, its delisting from NZX and subsequent USX listing, facilities provided by the Masthead group and an equity crowdfunding offer to existing shareholders
- on investigations by the Financial Markets Authority on potential insider conduct breaches involving NZX-listed issuers
- Compagnie Financière Tradition on its acquisition of OM Wholesale
- Finzsoft Solutions on its public takeover offer by Finzsoft Joint Venture
- Perpetual Guardian on its acquisition of the Givealittle crowdfunding website from the Spark Foundation
- Impact Enterprise Fund on its investments in LearnCoach, Voltaic Innovations, Grounded Packaging, Waikaitu and Melon Health
- Tanarra Capital on its investment in New Zealand Wool Scouring
- a registered bank, following a statutory request from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, on an independent report on governance matters
- Ninety Four Feet on its partnership with Augusta Capital to develop the Lakeview site in Queenstown
- xTV Networks on its acquisition, and the reverse listing on the ASX, of New Zealand Coastal Seafoods, and its contemporaneous IPO in New Zealand and Australia
- the management team of ACG Schools on the sale of ACG Schools by Pacific Equity Partners to Inspired Education
- Coretex on the subscription by Movac of equity into Coretex
- the Special Division of NZ Markets Disciplinary Tribunal on the reverse NZX listing of PaySauce
- Serko on its US share-for-share acquisition of InterplX
- Pioneer Capital, as a substantial shareholder of Orion Health, on the Hg Capital transaction
- Milford Asset Management, as a substantial shareholder of SLI Systems, on the ESW takeover offer
- Archipro, Chapter 2 Sports, the Dust Palace and Zeffer Cider on their respective equity crowdfunding campaigns
- Appliance Shed on the sale of its business to Noel Leeming
- Keytone Dairy Corporation on its acquisition of Keytone Enterprises (NZ) Company, and its contemporaneous listing on the ASX, and IPO in New Zealand and Australia
- Oyster Property Group on its joint venture with KKR to acquire the Central Park Corporate Centre
- Serko on the establishment of its non-executive director fixed trading share plan
- Genesis Youth Trust on its (and New Zealand's second) offer of social bonds
- APM Workcare on its (and New Zealand's first) offer of social bonds
- the vendors on the sale of Compac Sorting Equipment to Tomra Systems
- Coretex on its acquisition (by way of merger) of Imarda and International Telematics, and the subsequent subscription by Milford of equity into Coretex
- Teva Pharmaceuticals on the application of New Zealand's overseas investment regime to its acquisition of Mylan
- Orion Health on its IPO in New Zealand and Australia and its listing on the NZX Main Board and the ASX
- the Better Bar Group of companies on the sale of their business to Veritas Investments
- the Commonwealth of Australia on its IPO of Medibank Private in New Zealand
- the principal vendors on the sale of Interpac Packaging to Huhtamaki
- Serko on its IPO in New Zealand and Australia and its listing on the NZX Main Board
- Rex Bionics on its reverse listing on the AIM market
- Bauer Media Group on its acquisition of certain magazine titles from NZME.
- AIM-listed Endace on its public takeover offer by Emulex Corporation
Contact us
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