Gibson Sheat bumps up sports law star, welcomes Bell Gully alum

Gibson Sheat has welcomed two new senior associates with the promotion of sports law expert Tenille Burnside and the hire of property specialist Nicola Peak.

Burnside got the nod after joining the firm’s commercial and sports law team just last year. Her practice focuses on guiding sports organisations through commercial, corporate and governance matters.

Her clients include Basketball New Zealand and the Wellington Phoenix. In addition, she also handles matters involving start-ups, procurement and technology contracts.

Prior to her stint with Gibson Sheat, Burnside was part of Russell McVeagh’s Auckland team. Subsequently, she relocated to London, where she was in-house counsel in IMG’s event and media group.

Gibson Sheat CEO Cameron Madgwick praised Burnside’s promotion, describing it as a move that “certainly bodes extremely well for our future.”

“We are so fortunate to have people like Tenille progress further into the leadership of the firm to help us realise our goals and aspirations,” he said.

Meanwhile, Peak came to Gibson Sheat from Bell Gully, where she spent almost 14 years. She focuses on property transactions, buying and selling land and commercial buildings, due diligence, commercial redevelopments and development agreements, commercial leasing and complex transactions.

In particular, she has an interest in commercial building redevelopment. She has advised listed companies, iwi investment companies, charities and private clients.

Before making the jump to Gibson Sheat, Peak had been a Bell Gully senior associate for almost five years. At Gibson Sheat, she will be operating from the firm’s Wellington and Lower Hutt offices.

Burnside will work from the Wellington branch.