Second Private and Commercial Law Symposium

The Auckland Faculty of Law and the Centre for Advancing Law and Technology Responsibly (ALTeR) at the Faculty of Law, University of Auckland invite you to the Second Private and Commercial Law Symposium.

This event will be held on Friday 20 March 2026 and provides an opportunity for academics, practitioners, students and judges to come together to discuss key issues in the law and the way it works in practice.

This year will focus on three topics. The first will look at good faith and best endeavours clause, particularly from a practical and comparative perspective. The second will discuss the new commercial list in Aotearoa New Zealand, with a focus on efficiency and access to justice. The third panel is an analysis of custody and property rights, specifically securities to digital assets.

The panel for Good Faith and Best Endeavours Clauses features: Richard Calnan, Matthew Harris, Kate Lane, Marta Andhov and Marcus Roberts. It will be Chaired by Dame Sian Elias KC.

The panel on the Commercial List features: Ian Gault, Jodi Gardner, Christopher Whitehead, Adam Ross KC and Iva Rosic.

The panel on Custody and Property Rights features: Jeremy Muir, Alexandra Andhov, Peter Watts, Alexandra Sims and Alex Muir.

The event will be catered and is completely free of charge. It will finish with networking drinks in honour of Professor Brian Coote – whose legacy included a desire to bring Auckland academia and the profession together.

CPE points can be claimed. Register now to attend – last year’s event sold out!

This event has been co-organised by Richard Calnan and Jodi Gardner. It is kindly sponsored by MinterEllisonRuddWatts and Law Faculty donors and has been supported by ALTeR (Centre for Advancing Law and Technology Responsibly).

Richard Calnan is a partner at Norton Rose Fulbright in London and a Visiting Professor at the University College London. One of his fondest memories is working at the Auckland Law Faculty in the 1980s (including with Brian Coote).

Jodi Gardner is the Inaugural Brian Coote Chair in Private Law at the Auckland Law Faculty and a member of ALTeR.

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