LAWRENCE SMITH/Stuff
Auckland Crown Solicitor Brian Dickey has 30 years experience in criminal and civil litigation. Auckland’s Crown Solicitor Brian Dickey, who is also a partner at Meredith Connell, said it is a complex area. “There will obviously be a correlation with the challenging criminal prosecution work we undertake for the Crown and the pandemic must have had effects on everyone,” he said. “We are cognisant of this, and supporting mental health is at the forefront of our organisational wellbeing thinking.” Meredith Connell prosecutors have three compulsory sessions with a mental health professional each year and the firm is looking to expand to an additional five voluntary sessions.
Shutterstock
Real estate lawyer Andrew Petersen replaces Anna Buchly in the top seat New Zealand’s Bell Gully has named Andrew Petersen as its new chair amid a number of senior promotions across the firm. Petersen – who leads the firm’s projects and real estate department – replaces Anna Buchly after almost three years in the role, who steps down to resume her full-time practice as a corporate lawyer covering capital markets, M&A and private equity. Petersen has been at Bell Gully for almost two decades, having joined from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in 2003. As well as Petersen’s appointment, the firm has also made three partner promotions – banking and finance lawyer Jennifer Gunser and experienced litigators Blair Keown and Kirsty Dobbs.