Buddle Findlay's 45 strong partnership has confirmed Paul Beverley as its national chairman. Paul leads the resource management and Māori law team in the Wellington office and will continue with his practice whilst he is the chair. Paul has been on the Buddle Findlay Board since 2012.
Peter Chemis, who has been the national chairman for the last ten years, finishes his term at the end of March 2017 and will continue to lead the firm's national employment practice.
Paul specialises in resource management processes, Māori Law and Treaty settlements. He advises on large RMA planning and infrastructure consenting projects, and has been a member of the core Crown negotiation and drafting teams on a number of significant Treaty of Waitangi settlements. These include Tuhoe (Te Urewera); Whanganui River (Te Awa Tupua); Waikato River; and settlements in Northland, Auckland and Hauraki, the central North Island and the top of the South Island. His particular specialty is designing and negotiating co-governance, co-management and relationship frameworks between the Crown, local government and Māori.
"I am really looking forward to the new role. Buddle Findlay has a very strong culture both internally and in terms of our relationships with our clients. We have a supportive and progressive internal culture and we attract and retain excellent lawyers who want to work in that type of environment. We are also known for our innovative and pragmatic approach to working with our clients. Those principles are core to Buddle Findlay, and I am looking forward to working with the Board, partners and staff to build on that culture.
Like all firms we operate in a dynamic and challenging legal market, and we need to continue to be agile and adaptable. We have been successful in doing that to date, and I am confident we can continue to do so."
