Harriet Quinlan

Harriet Quinlan is a commercial litigator with particular experience in trust and estate litigation, relationship property matters, shareholder disputes and contractual disputes. She also regularly advises insolvency practitioners and creditors in insolvency matters. 

Harriet applies excellent technical expertise to disputes with a view to achieving practical, efficient outcomes for clients. She has appeared in the Court of Appeal, regularly appears in the High Court and District Court and acts for clients in multi-million dollar arbitrations and mediations. Harriet’s clients value her professionalism, technical skills and responsiveness.

Harriet has been ranked as a Next Generation Lawyer in the Legal 500 Asia Pacific Guide.

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Key Transactions

Acted:

• In the Court of Appeal acting for a large construction company in a contractual payment dispute
• In the Court of Appeal acting for receivers in a challenge to their appointment
• In the Court of Appeal acting for a liquidator pursuing a voidable transaction
• In the Court of Appeal successfully representing a mother of a disabled son in a human rights judicial review case against the Crown
• For New Zealand’s largest credit union in obtaining interim injunctive orders against another credit union
• For a receiver of a trust in obtaining Court-ordered appointment and managing trust assets
• For several companies in successfully setting aside statutory demands, or opposing setting aside applications

Advised:

• Liquidators, receivers and creditors in liquidations and receiverships
• Independent trustees in trust matters
• Several individuals in relationship property disputes

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Credentials

• Bachelor of Laws (LLB), Bachelor of Arts (BA), University of Otago

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Admission to the Bar

• New Zealand, 2012

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Professional Memberships

• Restructuring and Insolvency Turnaround Association NZ
• Women in Restructuring and Insolvency
• Auckland Women Lawyers’ Association

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Contributed Articles

• No ability to set off claims in solvent liquidations

  A warning for companies entering solvent liquidation: you may not have a right to set-off unliquidated claims against debts you owe to creditors. That was the finding in a recent High Court decision where the liquidators of HY Tourism Ltd (in liquidation) (HY) asked the Court to determine the amount a creditor was able to […]

• Five key learnings from the Covid-19 lockdown

  The aftermath of the COVID-19 lockdown will likely see a significant litigation spike, as there will inevitably be disputes about parties’ contractual obligations and who bears the risk of lockdown ramifications. We have looked back on the COVID-19 lockdown and collated some key learnings for businesses to future-proof their business from the risks of the […]

• Mitigating insolvency risks during COVID-19 lockdown

  The COVID-19 pandemic will have a significant financial impact on all businesses across New Zealand, particularly as a result of the Government-directed lockdown. The nationwide financial impact may give rise to insolvency risks for some businesses. Now is the time for businesses to review all of their commercial arrangements to mitigate the financial impact as […]

• Managing the risk of insolvency on a construction project

  With the new Construction Contracts Act retentions regime in place, and rising construction costs, more and more businesses in the construction industry are facing solvency issues.  Contractors are finding their cashflow is tightening and margins are decreasing.  This article looks at some suggestions on how Contractors can structure their construction contracts to limit exposure to […]