Barrister

Bruce
Scott

Bruce is a highly experienced lawyer having previously led Chapman Tripp’s Wellington litigation practice before joining the independent bar in 2020.

He is a specialist in commercial, insurance and public law litigation, arbitration and mediation.

Bruce has acted for various local and international companies, and insurers in a range of commercial disputes.  He has acted for, or represented:

  • the Earthquake Commission for nearly a decade following the Canterbury earthquakes.  This included both the development of new compensation mechanisms for complex land claims associated with increased vulnerability to liquefaction and flood damage and representing the Commission in numerous proceedings;
  • Vector in long-running litigation concerning New Zealand’s Kapuni gas field.  This involved gas balancing disputes, disputes over remaining gas reserves, contractual entitlements to further tranches of gas, arbitrating terms for the supply of new tranches of gas and complex gas processing issues;
  • numerous insurers, banks and other financial service providers in a range of commercial and insurance disputes;
  • the New Zealand seafood industry for over 30 years on a wide range of litigation and public law matters, including assisting with the development and drafting of policy, regulations and legislation;
  • corporations and individuals facing criminal charges, usually in a regulatory context.

Bruce is recognised as a leading lawyer in Chambers Asia Pacific 2020 and Chambers Global 2020.

Contact

Memberships

  • New Zealand Law Society

Qualifications

  • LLB Victoria University of Wellington

Practice areas

  • Civil and commercial litigation
  • Public and administrative Law

  • Oil and gas litigation

 

  • Arbitration and mediation
  • Fisheries – compliance, regulatory and policy
  • Insurance and Income protection

Recent experience

  • successfully represented Vector in arbitration and on appeal against the Kapuni Mining Companies relating to Vector’s entitlements to gas from the Kapuni gas field, New Zealand’s oldest producing gas and condensate field
  • acted for Sanford on a range of commercial disputes, including in relation to charter agreements, joint ventures and the use of foreign crew on fishing vessels
  • advising the Earthquake Commission (EQC) on the discharge of their statutory natural disaster insurance obligations, including litigation and recovery matters, in the wake of the 2010-11 Canterbury earthquakes
  • acted for Vector on the Maui pipeline gas leak that disrupted more than 2500 businesses in 2011
  • advised Sovereign on a range of health and disability insurance matters
  • represented various insurers in litigation concerning both claims made against them as insurers (public liability, income protection and health related claims) as well as their corporate litigation, and
  • acted on various commercial transactions and public law disputes for most of New Zealand’s largest fishing companies including Sanford, Sealord, Te Oahu Kai Moana and Talley’s Fisheries.
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