When Hamilton law firms Braun Bond & Lomas (BBL) and Talbot Law merged in April it was a win-win for both firms.
One of New Zealand’s biggest dispute resolution firms, BBL has added the construction and property expertise of Mike Talbot and his team.
Mike Talbot
A senior litigator, Mike has worked in all areas of civil and commercial litigation, with a particular expertise in construction and property disputes. He regularly appears for clients in court, arbitrations, adjudications, and mediations.
Joining as a principal, it was an easy decision for Mike to combine his firm’s expertise with BBL’s and with it the ability to provide his clients with a more complete service, as well as adding his breadth of knowledge to the BBL team.
“I see my merger with BBL as being hugely beneficial to my clients as they get a larger suite of services than they did from me previously as a construction and development specialist,” he says.
“Because Talbot Law specialised in development and construction litigation and advice, we got a lot of requests for advice in areas in which we didn’t specialise. For instance, clients came to us with business related litigation, but then have queries which involved their personal situation – trust issues or relationship property matters, for example. Those are not areas which we’ve specialised in and it’s where my clients can reap the benefits of working with the wider BBL team.”
Joining forces with BBL has meant Mike can concentrate his energies on his clients.
Resolving disputes without the need for a court hearing is one of Mike’s specialties, but only if that is in the best interest of his clients.
“Litigation is expensive and time consuming for clients. It takes the focus off the positive aspects of running their business so it should always be a last resort.”
If involved in a dispute or potential dispute early, Mike can work with his clients to find a more commercial strategy, such as direct negotiation or a form of alternative dispute resolution.
“As well as leading to an earlier and less expensive resolution, this approach also more often results in the parties continuing their commercial relationship”.
While he finds that a collegial approach to obtaining a successful outcome for clients usually obtains the best results, he is able to take a firm line when needed.
“I believe in collaborating with both clients and colleagues, and those on the other side of disputes. There is often no point in being positional, and my experience and expertise allow me to articulate our clients’ positions positively and succinctly to other Counsel and parties.”
Bringing his construction expertise to BBL means Mike plays an integral role in advising the team on complex construction and property disputes. It is something he loves to do.
“We sit down as a team once a week and if anyone has any gnarly or novel legal problems, we talk them through. Because BBL has a real mixture of expertise, you get a lot of valuable input, and the clients get the benefit of different fields of expertise”
BBL directors Toby Braun, Kevin Bond and Kieran Lomas have crossed paths with Mike and his team many times before. “The complementary practices and personalities both our teams have means that we have integrated well. Our clients need objective advice and strong advocacy, but they don’t need someone who loses sight of the issues and loses sight that the lawyers aren’t the enemies. And more often than not, the clients aren’t the enemies. They’ve just got issues to resolve. The nature of Mike’s practice, and his way of practising litigation has gelled perfectly with our team,” Toby says.
While size isn’t everything, Toby says, it’s the breadth of expertise that the merger brings that is so exciting.
“There aren’t many dedicated litigation firms in the Waikato or even in the country. So, to have Talbot Law and BBL in the same town is relatively unusual. Joining forces means we’re one of the biggest if not the biggest, dedicated litigation firms outside of Auckland. Bigger doesn’t always mean better, but it does give us a breadth of experience and expertise that is good for our clients, and for the disputes we are resolving.”
While all have a wide range of litigation experience, adding Mike’s construction and property expertise means that the firm can advise on and deal with any type of commercial or civil dispute, and has a depth of experience that is diffcult to rival. Between them and their colleagues they have the litigation field covered.
