One new partner has been with the firm since the start of her legal career
DLA Piper has promoted Pavanie Edirisuriya and Tom Barnes to partners in its New Zealand arm.
Auckland-based Edirisuriya brings considerable experience in corporate and commercial law. She has advised on matters involving domestic and cross-border M&A, overseas investment, commercial contracts, and joint ventures. She specialises in providing legal guidance on regulatory frameworks related to the primary and renewable energy sectors, such as the emissions trading scheme.
She has also advised overseas clients investing in New Zealand; her recent clients include key offshore investors in the forestry and renewable sectors.
“There has been a significant increase in investments in renewables assets in New Zealand in the last 24 months, and this trend is expected to continue for some time,” Edirisuriya said. “While investments have mainly been in early-stage development projects, we are also seeing an increased interest in fully developed renewables assets. As the sector sees more diversification and increased opportunities as a result of technology and government support, it will inevitably require and attract more investment.”
DLA Piper confirmed that Edirisuriya has worked with corporate partner Martin Thomson in key roles related to all overseas investment transactions the firm handled in New Zealand.
“She is a DLA Piper talent who began her career with us and has become an exceptional leader in our firm... Pav’s engaging personality, deep sector knowledge and OIA expertise make her a true asset to the team.” Thomson noted.
Meanwhile, Barnes, based in Wellington, kicked off his career in private practice with DLA Piper. He practises with the firm’s financial services and funds management team. He has assisted leading financial institutions on a range of issues relevant to fund managers, trustees, custodians, distributors, and their service providers. He has tackled issues related to regulatory compliance, governance, legal risk management, and the firm said that he is strongly interested in “exploring the suitability of innovative products for the New Zealand market.”
“It’s been a steady and ongoing development—it puts people’s savings in the hands of professionals,” Barnes said of his work in funds management. “And now the typical plain, vanilla funds have been supplemented by new and interesting offerings in more specialist sectors. There has been a trend towards passive investment management in recent times, but in the current economic climate, there is an opportunity for active managers to prove their worth.”
He added that this was “all happening against a wider context of downward pressure on fees and ever-increasing regulation.”
Barnes has also been highly involved in working with DLA Piper Law& solution TOKO, which the firm said leverages distributed ledger technology “to enable asset owners to tokenise them and raise funds quickly and securely and businesses to track and report on the sustainability of their supply chains.”
“[Edirisuriya and Barnes] are highly regarded lawyers and are true advocates of our values of being supportive, collaborative, bold and exceptional. I have no doubt Pav and Tom will continue to provide excellent support to our clients,” managing partner Laura Scampion said.
