Lowndes strengthens team to take on new challenges

This is a supplied media release

We’re pleased to announce the promotion of four Lowndes team members to Principal and Senior Solicitor roles—a reflection of the dedication and expertise they bring to the firm.

With Lowndes’ continued growth in recent years, these promotions further strengthen our position as a true alternative to NZ’s large, traditional firms, offering broad knowledge and experience with the personalised approach of a boutique operation.

Lowndes’ Founder and Managing Partner, Mark Lowndes says:

“We are thrilled to have the depth of talent, and the support of clients, that allows us to make four senior promotions. We know there’s a growing appetite for alternatives to ‘Big Law’ firms and I believe our approach has found its niche with businesses, institutions and lawyers who want to work a little differently.”

Meet our promoted team members:   

Kathryn Hickling: Principal

Kathryn brings over 13 years’ experience to Lowndes through her work with leading commercial law firms in both Melbourne and Auckland. As a specialist in property law, she has acted for major high-profile clients such as Lion Nathan, Coles Property Group, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, ANZ, CGU and Westpac. Her experience also includes acting for developers, major banks, councils, educational institutions, landlords, tenants and international
franchisors.

Greg France: Principal

Greg takes a pragmatic approach to achieve the best outcomes for his clients, drawing on over 15 years’ experience in corporate and commercial law. Before joining Lowndes he spent eight years in London working at leading international law firm King & Wood Mallesons and as in-house counsel at GlaxoSmithKline. Greg’s particular interest is in IT-related matters, along with the protection and commercialisation of intellectual property.

Jennifer Tunna: Principal

Named an “associate to watch” in this year’s Chambers and Partners Asia Pacific directory, Jennifer offers extensive experience in the finance sector, particularly in insolvency and restructuring. With 10 years at leading firms in London, Auckland and Christchurch, Jennifer has worked on many of the largest and most complex corporate collapses in recent times, including acting for the receivers of finance companies such as South Canterbury Finance, Bridgecorp and Belgrave Finance.

Grace Im: Senior Solicitor

Grace brings specialist litigation and dispute resolution skills to the Lowndes team. She joined Lowndes from a civil litigation firm specialising in large scale construction disputes and she has more than five years’ experience representing clients on complex defects claims. Grace works with our litigation team on civil and criminal matters and has prepared matters in the District Court, High Court, Court of Appeal, Weathertight Homes Tribunal and Employment Relations Authority. She is also fluent in Korean.

These promotions underscore our recent highly recommended ranking in Chambers and Partners Asia Pacific 2016, which describes Lowndes as “a strong team” and recognises us for the third year in a row. We’re proud of our entire team and look forward to taking on our next set of challenges in the second half of the year.