Gary has a broad civil and commercial litigation practice, and is regularly instructed on contract disputes, tort claims, building disputes, debt recovery matters, bankruptcy and liquidation applications, and equitable claims. He has appeared as counsel in the Court of Appeal, High Court, District Court, arbitrations and mediations, and in various tribunals and quasi-judicial bodies. He has also been appointed amicus curiae/counsel to assist the court.

He has particular experience in insurance litigation arising from the Canterbury earthquakes, having begun his career working almost exclusively in this area. He has acted for close to 150 residential and commercial property owners and has appeared in dozens of negotiations, mediations and judicial settlement conferences. His experience spans the full breadth of earthquake-related issues, from original claims against the Earthquake Commission and all major insurers to defective repair cases (including claims against builders and project managers) and EQC on-sold claims.

His recent work/experience includes:

• Appearing (as junior counsel) in a two-and-a-half-week arbitration involving a complex commercial lease dispute.
• Acting (as junior counsel) for a defendant company in an ongoing class action involving a number of hearings in the High Court and Court of Appeal since 2018.
• Acting for an engineer on successful appeals to the Chartered Professional Engineers Council (as lead counsel) and the District Court (as sole counsel) in a dispute against the Registration Authority of Engineering New Zealand concerning the engineer’s continued registration as a CPEng.
• Appearing (as junior counsel) in five-day trial in the High Court successfully defending claims of breach of contract, misrepresentation and breach of fiduciary duty.
• Acting on a variety of insolvency cases, including making and opposing applications for liquidations and bankruptcy, insolvent proposal applications, applications to set aside statutory demand, and advising companies navigating COVID-19 business debt hibernation.
• Acting both for and against various professionals on disciplinary matters.
• Successfully challenging the jurisdiction of an arbitral tribunal to hear a building dispute.
• Acting for an Auckland property owner in High Court proceedings against the Earthquake Commission for damage caused by a series of landslips.
• Volunteering as a judge at the 2021 and 2023 University of Canterbury Witness Examination and Mooting competitions.

Outside of work, Gary enjoys travelling, camping, skiing, and spending time with his wife and their dog Alfie. He is also a dedicated Vipassanā meditator.