Our People

Our People
Director
Andrew, one of the firm’s two serving co-founders, advises on a wide range of corporate, strategic and transactional matters, with a focus on takeovers, corporate advisory, co-investment and joint venture... Read more

Andrew, one of the firm’s two serving co-founders, advises on a wide range of corporate, strategic and transactional matters, with a focus on takeovers, corporate advisory, co-investment and joint venture arrangements, and business acquisitions and divestments.

He has particular expertise in providing strategic board, governance and transaction advice, including a focus on offshore investment in New Zealand. He is the lead legal adviser to a number of NZX listed entities and is regularly asked to provide specialist independent advice to boards in tandem with a company's usual legal advisers. He has developed a trusted advisor relationship with a number of local and international private investors and family offices in relation to their New Zealand interests.

Andrew is recognised as one of New Zealand’s leading public takeover lawyers, and co-heads the firm’s takeover practice. His experience and expertise in advising on the defence of hostile or unsolicited bids is unrivalled, and he is often sought out to provide specialist governance and strategic advice to boards who receive unsolicited bid proposals. He has presented on takeover defence to the New Zealand Institute of Directors Chairman’s Group and other specialist bodies.

Andrew was a senior corporate partner at Russell McVeagh before he left that firm in 2002 to establish Harmos Horton Lusk.

Recognition

Andrew is ranked as a Band 1 individual for Corporate/Commercial by Chambers Global and Chambers Asia Pacific, and is described as “world class and very strategic” with “an ‘excellent reputation’ in the corporate governance and transactional spheres, especially where complex takeover matters are concerned”.

Andrew is also recognised as a leading individual for Corporate/M&A by Asia Pacific Legal 500, with clients noting that he is “incredibly intelligent and always thinking of ways to achieve the required outcome”. In addition, he is recognised as a leading lawyer for Corporate/M&A by Asia Law Profiles and individually ranked for M&A by IFLR 1000.

Governance and other roles

Andrew has extensive governance experience across the listed, unlisted and not for profit sectors in New Zealand. He is the former chair of the board of NZX, and was formerly a director of ASX listed Scentre Group and of ASX listed AMP Limited and its subsidiaries AMP Bank Limited and AMP Life Limited. In addition, he is a director of a large private farm ownership holding company with external shareholders, and a former trustee of the New Zealand Arts Foundation and the McCahon Trust which provides an Auckland based residence programme for visual artists.

Director
Annie is a specialist corporate lawyer with expertise in domestic and cross-border mergers, acquisitions and divestments, equity capital markets transactions, private securities offerings, joint ventures... Read more

Annie is a specialist corporate lawyer with expertise in domestic and cross-border mergers, acquisitions and divestments, equity capital markets transactions, private securities offerings, joint ventures and other high value transactions. She also regularly advises on NZX and securities law compliance and foreign investment into New Zealand.

Annie acts for clients in a variety of industries including healthcare, agriculture and dairy, corporate real estate and telecommunications.  She is the legal adviser to a number of NZX and/or ASX listed entities, including The a2 Milk Company, Argosy Property and Green Cross Health.

Before joining Harmos Horton Lusk, Annie was a corporate associate at Bell Gully.

Recognition

A number of the transactions on which Annie has advised have been nominated for industry awards. Annie was also a finalist in the Young Private Practice Lawyer of the Year (35 and Younger) category at the 2018 NZ Law Awards.

Director
Nathanael specialises in domestic and cross-border public and private mergers and acquisitions, equity capital markets and listed company compliance and corporate governance. Nathanael is one of New... Read more

Nathanael specialises in domestic and cross-border public and private mergers and acquisitions, equity capital markets and listed company compliance and corporate governance.

Nathanael is one of New Zealand’s leading public takeover lawyers (both takeover bids under the Takeovers Code and schemes of arrangement). He co-leads the firm’s public takeovers practice and has advised on some of the most notable transactions under the Takeovers Code, including the highest value public takeover and highest value takeover-by-scheme in New Zealand corporate history.

Nathanael was appointed to the Takeovers Panel, the regulator of public takeovers in New Zealand, in 2016. He was also a member of the regulatory working group of the Capital Markets 2029 Taskforce (an industry review of New Zealand's capital markets initiated by NZX and the Financial Markets Authority).

Recognition

Nathanael is recognised as a ‘leading individual’ for Corporate/M&A by Asia Pacific Legal 500 (which has described him as an “intelligent, commercial as well as pragmatic” lawyer who “finds ways to do things others say you can’t”).  He is also ranked for Corporate/Commercial by Chambers Global and Chambers Asia Pacific (which describes him as “a very commercially astute lawyer who offers good, pragmatic advice”), is recommended as a ‘distinguished practitioner’ for Corporate/M&A by Asia Law Profiles and as ‘highly regarded’ for M&A and Private Equity by IFLR1000. 

Nathanael was a finalist for New Zealand Dealmaker of the Year at the 2022 and at the 2021 Australasian Law Awards and he was also named as one of only eight ‘top’ corporate lawyers in New Zealand in the New Zealand Herald’s 2022 Power List. 

Over the last eight years, Nathanael has been the lead legal adviser on 14 transactions that have been nominated for, or won, transaction awards at the New Zealand Law Awards (including in the M&A Deal of the Year, International Deal of the Year, Equity Market Deal of the Year and Mid-Market Deal of the Year categories). 

Governance and other roles

Nathanael is a member of the Takeovers Panel, the government body responsible for regulating public takeovers in New Zealand.  He is also a trustee of the Laidlaw College Foundation, an endowment fund for a private tertiary training institution – with a multi-million dollar investment portfolio and substantial land holdings. Nathanael is a member of the New Zealand Institute of Directors.

Director
Emma has considerable experience in corporate and commercial transactions both in New Zealand and the United Kingdom.  Emma specialises in advising on acquisitions, divestments, takeovers, joint... Read more

Emma has considerable experience in corporate and commercial transactions both in New Zealand and the United Kingdom.  Emma specialises in advising on acquisitions, divestments, takeovers, joint ventures and shareholding arrangements. She also advises listed and unlisted companies on general corporate and securities law matters, including corporate reorganisations, private capital raisings, public securities offers and employee share schemes.

Before joining Harmos Horton Lusk, Emma was a senior associate at Russell McVeagh in Auckland, a senior associate at Allen & Overy in London and an associate at Kensington Swan in Auckland.

Recognition

A number of the transactions on which Emma has advised have been nominated for industry awards.

Director
Tim specialises in corporate and securities law, with particular expertise in equity capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, and joint venture transactions. He acts for clients in a wide range of... Read more

Tim specialises in corporate and securities law, with particular expertise in equity capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, and joint venture transactions. He acts for clients in a wide range of industries and regularly advises some of New Zealand’s leading listed corporates and privately-held companies.

Tim is a leading securities lawyer, with extensive experience in equity capital markets transactions including initial public offerings, direct listings, secondary capital raisings and block trades. His experience includes advising AFT Pharmaceuticals on its initial public offering and NZX / ASX dual listing, Radius Residential Care on its direct listing on the NZX Main Board and MOVE Logistics Group on its reverse listing on the NZX Main Board.

His international experience includes working as a senior associate in the corporate and private equity teams at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in London.

Recognition

Tim is ranked as a leading lawyer for a Corporate/Commercial by Chambers Global and Chambers Asia Pacific and has been described as "receiving extensive praise for his strong expertise in corporate law". Asia Pacific Legal 500 describes Tim as “commercially astute, incredibly responsive and a problem solver”. He is also recognised as a leading lawyer for Corporate/M&A by Asia Law Profiles.

A number of the transactions on which Tim has advised have won or been nominated for industry awards, including transactions that were nominated as M&A Deal of the Year at the 2019, 2017 and 2015 NZ Law Awards. In addition, Tim was recognised in the NZ Lawyer Hot List for 2016.

Corporate boutique Harmos Horton Lusk is ‘highly recommended for the great skills’ of its directors.

- Asia Pacific Legal 500