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Partner

Niamh McMahon
BA (NUI),
LLB (Hons) (Auckland),
MPhil (Comm Law) (First Class Honours) (Auckland)

09 306 1881

Linkedin
 
 
 
 
 

What do I do?

I predominantly practise commercial law. I put deals and people together and I provide advice in a commercial context. This covers a lot of ground and if you want to know more details about the types of work I do, see our Commercial Services. I am also involved in insolvency and restructuring, and our dispute resolution lawyers value my strategic input.

What do I enjoy about what I do?

I love to see clients growing and doing well. I am one piece in a jigsaw of my clients’ decision making processes. It’s fun to be a part of a bigger picture and to see my advice working. It’s great when I can look back at the end and see how my judgment calls paid dividends for my clients. Of course, nobody is right 100% of the time but we all learn from experience and I have plenty of that – I have been practising commercial law in Auckland for more than twenty-five years.

What have I done in the past?

I started work as a lawyer in the commercial department of a large Auckland law firm in 1987, just in time for the share market crash. While working, I completed my Master's degree in Commercial Law with First Class Honours.

What am I like out of work?

Outside of work I’m a parent to three adult children, one of whom is in university and lives at home.  Need I say any more.

To stay fit, I am a regular attender at the gym.  I'm also an avid diver. I go off with my dive-buddies to somewhere new every year. We tend to select fairly remote destinations. My most thrilling dive was in French Polynesia with feeding sharks – luckily we weren’t the most appetizing thing in the water that day!

affiliations and appointments

  • Cost Assessor for the New Zealand Law Society (NZLS), 1995 – present.

  • Investigator for NZLS, 2012 – present.

  • Member of the NZLS Complaints Advisory Panel, 2017 – present.

  • Honorary Consul General for Ireland, 2015 – present. In this role I assist Irish citizens in New Zealand with their consular requirements.

  • Member of the NZLS Continuing Professional Development Committee, 2015 – present.

  • Member of NZLS Standards Committee 5, 2010 – 2017, Deputy Convenor, 2015 – 2017.

  • Executive member of Property Law Section of NZLS, 2013 – 2016 (elected position).

  • Convenor of the Auckland District Law Society Documents and Precedents Committee, 2005 – 2012.

  • I regularly present continuing legal education seminars, including talks on the Property Law Act 2007, business acquisitions (in the context of the current international economic climate), the FMA, employment relationships, neighbour disputes, succession planning, prejudiced shareholders and conflicts of interest.

  • Member of Be.Accessible's The Fab 50, which is a network of leaders working to improve accessibility for people with disabilities across all sectors and communities throughout New Zealand.