John Burley

I offer my clients practical solutions to practical problems over a diverse range of areas from construction, employment and family/estate disputes through to commercial/business disputes.

My key areas of specialty are:

                       
• Employment Litigation – including individual and collective employment contract negotiation, personal grievance  claims, privacy and related law, and professional disciplinary matters. I have appeared in a number of important employment cases before the Court of Appeal and in the resolution of party claims on significant employment agreements.
                       
• Construction Litigation – including leaky building claims (residential and commercial) and Construction Contracts Act disputes.
                       
• Care and Protection Litigation – including applications under the Care of Children and the CYFS Acts involving children of all ages. I act for a significant Maori Trust board in this area and have assisted in the successful placement                            of many children with other family members where parents have been unable to care for them.
                       
• Estate and Wills Litigation – including Family Protection and Testamentary Promises claims both for Estates and Claimants seeking to challenge wills where there has been little or no provision for them.
                   

I also provide general practice advice to a number of companies, trusts and individuals, and act for an institutional lender in domestic mortgage and recovery work.

I have built strong relationships with clients who tell me I’m a ‘good communicator’. I am a great believer in keeping clients informed and updated at all times.

I am focused on achieving workable solutions for clients by providing realistic advice, relying not only on my past and present courtroom experience, but also my commercial experience. I provide advice on how to avoid problems and on reaching sensible and manageable settlements in preference to going to Court where appropriate for the relevant client.

I spent three years working in New Zealand before moving to London in 1987. I advised on mergers, takeovers and acquisitions in the UK before returning to New Zealand in 1990. After several locum assignments I took up an in-house position advising and representing a number of large health industry unions, before becoming part of the legal team at the Employers & Manufacturers Association through to 1996, when I returned to private practice.

I joined Callaghan & Co in 2004 prior to its merger with McVeagh Fleming in December 2011.

LLB, University of Canterbury 1984

Admitted in New Zealand 1988

Admitted in England and Wales 1988

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These are varied, although I do have a passion for the outdoors. I have three active daughters whose love of skiing and sailing I also  share.