We are thrilled to have Polly Pope and Bridgette White (Bankside Chambers) guest hosting this SHIFT CPD event Privilege - Practical Tips for In-house Counsel.

This will be an interactive session recapping the basics of privilege and providing practical tips for common issues facing in-house counsel. Polly and Bridgette will discuss topics including:

- Solicitor-client privilege

- Litigation privilege

- Internal and external investigations

- The often-misunderstood concept of “without prejudice”

- Common misconceptions in the New Zealand market

Polly Pope (Barrister)

Polly is a highly regarded commercial litigator and dispute resolution specialist. Polly joined the independent bar after over a decade as partner at preeminent law firm Russell McVeagh, including a term as Chair of the Partnership.

Polly has expertise in commercial, insolvency, construction, and financial regulatory enforcement disputes and investigations. Polly has been trusted to solve complex problems for clients including listed companies, banks, insolvency practitioners, and public entities. Through Bankside’s presence in Singapore, Polly can assist New Zealand companies to pursue international arbitration to resolve disputes.

Polly is recognised by Chambers and Partners Asia-Pacific 2023 and 2024 for both Dispute Resolution and Restructuring and Insolvency. One client quoted by Chambers and Partners describes her technical ability as “second to none”, and her ability to distill the complex into the easy to digest as “unparalleled”: “In Polly, you know you have a lawyer that is your best chance of getting a good outcome”. Polly is recognised a 'Litigation Star' by Benchmark Litigation and won ‘Best in Restructuring and Insolvency’ at the 2021 Asia Women in Business Law Awards.

Polly became a Fellow of the Arbitrators’ and Mediators’ Institute of New Zealand and the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators in 2018. She was awarded the Sir Ronald Davison Award for excellence in arbitral award writing. She has subsequently been appointed to the Arbitration Panels of the New Zealand Dispute Resolution Centre and of AMINZ. She was recently appointed to AMINZ’s Arbitration Appeals Tribunal. In 2023 she completed Pepperdine University’s acclaimed ‘Mediating the Litigated Case’ course. Polly co-founded Women in Restructuring and Insolvency. She is a member of the faculty of NZLS CLE’s Litigation Skills Course.

Bridgette White (Barrister)

Bridgette is an experienced commercial, regulatory and insolvency litigator. She has expertise in complex contractual and commercial disputes, regulatory investigations, enforcement activity and prosecutions (including by the Serious Fraud Office, Commerce Commission and Financial Markets Authority), fair trading and consumer protection claims as well as insolvency claims (including breaches of directors' duties). Bridgette is recognised as a leading insolvency and restructuring lawyer in New Zealand by Best Lawyers 2024 Guide.

Throughout her career, Bridgette has acted on a range of high-profile cases and investigations across a diverse range of industries, including agricultural, manufacturing, construction, consumer and financial markets.

Before joining Bankside, Bridgette was a senior litigator at Russell McVeagh. She has appeared in the District and High Courts and the Court of Appeal (as both sole and junior counsel) and has experience in mediations, arbitrations and authority hearings.

Bridgette works on large scale matters and smaller disputes with equal ease and care. She is a results-focused, pragmatic practitioner and clients value her direct and strategic advice, passionate advocacy and client-centric service.

This event is 1 CPD hour. Please register individually to receive your CPD hour. Please retain your confirmation email for this event for your CPD hour.

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