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The Best Lawyers in New Zealand™ 2024 Awards

The Best Lawyers in New Zealand 2024 awards include an elite field of top lawyers and law firms.

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Best Lawyers

Written by Best Lawyers

Published: April 19, 2023

The Best Lawyers in New Zealand Awards

For its 15th consecutive edition, New Zealand is celebrating the launch of its esteemed Best Lawyers awards with The Best Lawyers in New Zealand™ 2024.

Each year, Best Lawyers uses our Purely Peer Review® methodology, a combined effort that includes nominations, outreach, voting and research to determine the most illustrious legal talent around the world.

The 15th edition of The Best Lawyers in New Zealand honors the legal talent of 618 lawyers across four metropolitan areas. Auckland is the metropolitan area with the most recognized lawyers in New Zealand for 2024.

Red and black font with gold symbols for New Zealand Launch Stats 2024

“Lawyer of the Year” Awards

Along with the individual lawyer recognitions, the 15th edition awards also include the “Lawyer of the Year” honorifics, which distinguish one lawyer per practice area in each metropolitan area. For 2024, we awarded 61 lawyers as “Lawyer of the Year” across New Zealand.

The Practice Areas Behind Each Award

An incredible 72 practice areas are included among The Best Lawyers in New Zealand awards this year, covering an impressive range of lawyers and legal talent through the country. Of these practice areas, the 10 with the highest numbers of recognized lawyers include Corporate Law, Litigation, Intellectual Property Law, Banking and Finance Law, Labor and Employment Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, Real Estate Law, Insurance Law, Insolvency and Reorganization Law and Capital Markets Law.

Best Lawyers offers a Find a Lawyer page for users to search attorneys in practice areas needed for legal counsel. Website visitors in New Zealand searched the Best Lawyers website for these 10 practice areas the most this year: Labor and Employment Law, Health Care Law, Litigation, Intellectual Property Law, Real Estate Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, Arbitration and Mediation, Banking and Finance Law, Criminal Defense and Insurance Law.

Showcasing Your Award

Best Lawyers offers several options to showcase awards through impactful marketing.

Please contact sales@bestlawyers.com to learn more about how you can highlight individual lawyer and firm awards through your website, social media channels, Best Lawyers Profile Suite packages and commemorative items.

Use the Find a lawyer in New Zealand page to connect with experienced lawyers, and visit the Find a Lawyer page to explore additional legal expertise and resources worldwide.

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Resources For Lawyers

Lawyers in Columbus, Ohio

Kevin E. Griffith
Kevin E. Griffith
Littler
Columbus, OH
Practice Areas
Employment Law - Management
Labor Law - Management
Litigation - Labor and Employment
Specific Focus
Arbitration and Mediation
Recognized since 2008 in
Kevin E. Griffith
Kevin E. Griffith

Kevin E. Griffith practices primarily in the areas of business competition litigation and employment litigation. He has extensive litigation experience in cases involving corporate raiding and interference with contract claims, and enforcing and defending employment contracts, trade secrets and covenants-not-to-compete. He has defended hundreds of employment discrimination and wrongful termination cases, including several seminal cases before the Ohio Supreme Court. In addition, Kevin counsel...

Kevin E. Griffith
Kevin E. Griffith
Lawyer of the Year Badge
Patrick D. Cornelius
Patrick D. Cornelius
Barnes & Thornburg LLP
Columbus, OH
Practice Areas
Corporate Law
Health Care Law
Mergers and Acquisitions Law
Recognized since 2013 in
Patrick D. Cornelius
Patrick D. Cornelius

Patrick D. Cornelius is a thoughtful, creative adviser, whether regarding strategic transactions or general business counseling. Pat makes it a priority to understand his clients’ goals, objectives and concerns and offer practical advice to help them solve problems, realize and execute on advantageous opportunities, and balance risk and reward. Pat has extensive experience leading M&A transactions for acquirers and targets, as well as advising clients on joint venture, capital raisi...

Patrick D. Cornelius
Patrick D. Cornelius
Grier D. Schaffer
Grier D. Schaffer
Arnold Todaro Welch & Foliano
Columbus, OH
Practice Areas
Medical Malpractice Law - Defendants
Recognized since 2018 in
Grier D. Schaffer
Grier D. Schaffer

In October 2015, Grier joined the ATWF team, bringing with him many years of experience in all areas of medical litigation, including cardiovascular, neurologic, neursurgical, radiology, oncology, obstetric-gynecologic and hospital administration issues. Grier’s litigation immersion began with his employment as a staff attorney at the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas in Columbus. His next position with Earl Warburton & Adams lasted over 25 years. Starting as an associate and wo...

Grier D. Schaffer
Grier D. Schaffer
Stephanie T. Greene Duffy
Stephanie T. Greene Duffy
Barnes & Thornburg LLP
Columbus, OH
Practice Areas
Real Estate Law
Recognized since 2025 in
Stephanie T. Greene Duffy
Stephanie T. Greene Duffy

Stephanie T. Greene Duffy is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Real Estate Law. Stephanie T., who practices law in Columbus, Ohio, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Stephanie T. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Stephanie T. Greene Duffy
Stephanie T. Greene Duffy
Bryan M. Pritikin
Bryan M. Pritikin
Roetzel & Andress
Columbus, OH
Practice Areas
Litigation - Construction
Recognized since 2026 in
Bryan M. Pritikin
Bryan M. Pritikin

Bryan Pritikin is an experienced trial attorney and Partner in CPM’s Litigation Practice Group, representing clients in complex business, civil, commercial, and probate litigation. His corporate litigation practice includes business disputes, breaches of contract, fiduciary duty claims, fraud, restrictive covenants such as non-compete and non-solicitation provisions, and shareholder and partnership disputes, and declaratory actions. He also has significant experience litigating construc...

Bryan M. Pritikin
Bryan M. Pritikin
WN
William Nesbitt
Koffel & Nesbitt
Columbus, OH
Practice Areas
DUI / DWI Defense
Recognized since 2025 in
WN
William Nesbitt

William Nesbitt is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of DUI / DWI Defense. William, who practices law in Columbus, Ohio, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which William is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

WN
William Nesbitt
Michael T. Short
Michael T. Short
Littler
Columbus, OH
Practice Areas
Employment Law - Management
Workers' Compensation Law - Employers
Recognized since 2014 in
Michael T. Short
Michael T. Short

Michael T. Short represents management clients in a wide range of labor and employment matters. He also actively represents employers in workers’ compensation cases before the Industrial Commission of Ohio, the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation, and all levels of Ohio courts. He has extensive experience representing public sector clients in collective bargaining negotiations, arbitrations, and before the Ohio State Employment Relations Board. He regularly counsels employers on: Labor...

Michael T. Short
Michael T. Short
Kathryn S. Wallrabenstein
Kathryn S. Wallrabenstein
Taft
Columbus, OH
Practice Areas
Criminal Defense: General Practice
Criminal Defense: White-Collar
Recognized since 2026 in
Kathryn S. Wallrabenstein
Kathryn S. Wallrabenstein

Kathryn S. Wallrabenstein is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Criminal Defense: General Practice and Criminal Defense: White-Collar. Kathryn S., who practices law in Columbus, Ohio, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Kathryn S. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Kathryn S. Wallrabenstein
Kathryn S. Wallrabenstein
Jeffrey E. Kaman
Jeffrey E. Kaman
Kaman & Cusimano LLC
Columbus, OH
Practice Areas
Community Association Law
Recognized since 2024 in
Jeffrey E. Kaman
Jeffrey E. Kaman

Jeffrey E. Kaman is a partner with Kaman & Cusimano LLC and serves as Chair of the Administration Department and the firm’s Columbus Office. He is based in Columbus, Ohio, where his practice is focused on Community Association Law. Jeff earned his Juris Doctor from Cleveland Marshall College of Law after graduating with honors from Loyola University Chicago with degrees in Honors History and Political Science. Since joining Kaman & Cusimano, Jeff has worked extensively with cond...

Jeffrey E. Kaman
Jeffrey E. Kaman
Lawyer of the Year Badge
J. Troy Terakedis
J. Troy Terakedis
Dickinson Wright PLLC
Columbus, OH
Practice Areas
Corporate Law
Mergers and Acquisitions Law
Private Funds / Hedge Funds Law
Specific Focus
Partnership
Recognized since 2009 in
J. Troy Terakedis
J. Troy Terakedis

Troy Terakedis counsels clients on federal income tax matters and in the structuring and formation of venture capital, leveraged buyout and other private equity funds, as well as other business entities. He also advises on partnership, limited liability company and general corporate law. In addition, Troy works with closely-held businesses, their owners, and other high-net worth individuals and executives, advising them on federal income tax, corporate succession, estate and gift tax and asse...

J. Troy Terakedis
J. Troy Terakedis

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