Russell McVeagh has recently welcomed back three senior alumni, and a further senior lawyer to the firm across its Corporate Advisory and Litigation practice areas, including Wellington-based special counsels Michael Loan and Steven Sutton, and Auckland-based senior associates Varoon Kumar and Whitney Robinson.
Special Counsels:
Michael Loan, the firm's new Head of Infrastructure, re-joins Russell McVeagh's Corporate Advisory team after a 13-year stint in London, the last eight of which he spent at Macquarie's Green Investment Group (GIG). As a Senior Vice President at GIG, Michael undertook lead roles on numerous investment and syndication transactions in Europe across the renewable energy subsectors, including offshore and onshore wind, solar and waste-to-energy. He started his career at Russell McVeagh in 2006.
Steven Sutton re-joins the Public Law team based in Wellington, bringing significant experience from a decade advising at the cutting edge of domestic and international public law and policy issues, including as a deputy chief executive at Te Puni Kōkiri, a China-based trade representative for five years, and a lawyer in the Beehive. He has first-hand experience of the practical and legal side of advising ministers, public sector senior leadership, strategy and project implementation, negotiating with China's government agencies, Cabinet decision making processes, policy-development, Māori policy issues, and government inquiries. Steven began his career at Russell McVeagh, working from 2008 and 2014 in the Public Law and Policy team.
Senior Associates:
Varoon Kumar returns to Russell McVeagh after spending five years at Linklaters in London, where he worked in generalist dispute resolution advising large companies and financial institutions on commercial disputes, contentious regulatory and strategic matters. He has gained a wealth of litigation experience, including advising on large-scale investigations and class actions, from his time in the UK and his four years at Russell McVeagh before moving abroad.
Whitney Robinson joins Auckland's Corporate Advisory practice from Toronto-based firm Blake, Cassels & Graydon, where she gained expertise in M&A transactions, business structuring, procurement processes, internal reorganisations, incorporation, franchising, and corporate governance. Whitney has a master's degree in the biochemistry field and uses this experience to advise clients in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and health sciences industries.
"We're thrilled to welcome these very talented lawyers to our team, who each bring a breadth of experience gained overseas back to our firm," Board Chair Allison Arthur-Young said. "It is special to welcome back three returnees amongst them and for them to have chosen us to continue building their careers here."