Pidgeon Law

Joanna Pidgeon

Joanna Pidgeon is a commercial property and business law specialist and the founder of Pidgeon Law. She is results and solutions orientated and client focused in the advice she gives.

Joanna acts for many individuals and small, medium and large sized businesses. She has a particular interest in property and advises on projects including apartment buildings, terraced housing developments, hotel and resort developments, commercial, office and retail building. She handles all aspects of fee simple, unit title, leasehold and cross lease subdivisions. Joanna is experienced in leasing matters representing both landlords and tenants and advises on green leasing.

Joanna acts for developers in the acquisition of land, obtaining resource and building consents, construction, subdivision and on sale of completed developments. She is an expert in the Unit Titles Act 2010, and issues relating to the rules, administration and management of body corporates.  She is experienced in sales on builder's terms, construction contracts and related finance issues, and in residential conveyancing. She often acts for financiers in property matters, including development projects, and in mortgagee sales.

Joanna often acts in the sale or acquisition of business and advises on commercial contracts. She provides structuring advice, and also advises on insolvency issues. Related to this is her practice in asset planning.

Joanna regularly presents at seminars and conferences on matters including Leasing, Unit Titles, Property Law Act and Residential Tenancies Act among other topics.  She also regularly provides advice to other practitioners in these areas.

Joanna is a member of the New Zealand Law Society Property Law Section Land Titles Committee and the New Zealand Law Society CLE Property Law Consultative Group.

She  chairs the ADLS Inc Property Disputes Committee and is a member of their Property Law Committee, and the ADLS lease form drafting subcommittee.  She was a member of the Conveyancing 2020 Workgroup, and the Auckland Women Lawyers Association.  In 2011 Joanna was awarded a St Cuthbert’s College Old Girls’ Association Making Her Mark Leadership Award.

Joanna is a board member of the Selwyn Foundation and chairs their Property and Development Committee and is a director of the New Zealand Mint.
 

Richard Pidgeon

Richard practices in the civil litigation area with a focus on commercial litigation, administrative law and family law.  Richard has a good sense of humour.  He has an ability to focus stressful disputes towards productive outcomes.  Richard listens well, then having distilled the issues from the client gives advice in a clear manner which provides options and explains the legal position with a view to enabling the client to make informed decisions, aware of the likely consequences.

His principal areas of practice are:

• Dispute resolution – including mediation and arbitration
• Commercial litigation
• Vendor/ purchaser/ leasehold/property disputes
• Company litigation (including a specialist area of shareholders remedies/ director’s duties)
• Administrative Law (including judicial review, New Zealand Bill of rights issues)
• Not-for-profit (litigation and governance advice, including sports, church organisations and incorporated societies, )
• Urgent relief (injunctions/ freezing orders)
• Family Law (Children, Relationship Property, Estates, Protection of Personal Property Rights)
• Equity
• Intellectual Property

Richard has appeared several times at Appellate level in the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court in family law appeals and in relation to a disinterment licence and a lease cancellation/ renewal dispute.

Richard has had articles regularly published in the annual “charities edition” of the New Zealand Law Journal since 2003, dealing with amateur sport and the advancement of religion as a charitable purpose.  Since 2005 Richard has delivered annual seminars for the Grey Lynn Neighbourhood Law Office in the area of Not-for-profit governance (which structure to select, relevant legal duties and obligations).  Richard was admitted in 1998, and achieved a Master of Commercial Law (Honours) in 2005 from the University of Auckland and continues with postgraduate study at the University of South Australia as time and professional and family commitments permit.  Richard sat on the ADLS Library Committee in 2003-2004. 

Richard lives on the North Shore with his wife and three sons.  His interests include his family, the Presbyterian Church, rugby (as a big North Harbour fan since 1985), fishing, snorkelling and playing AFL (as a former New Zealand AFL Representative 1999-2002 and Vice-President of the Auckland AFL Inc.).

Richard is able to take legal aid instructions as a lead provider in Family/ Civil.

Liza Fry-Irvine

Liza Fry-Irvine joined Pidgeon Law in July 2010, having come from a highly regarded Auckland city law firm. She joined us as an Associate and brings a broad range of property law and commercial experience. Clients value Liza’s interpersonal skills and her ability to provide practical advice.

Liza provides advice on residential, commercial and rural conveyancing transactions, property financing, title and ownership matters, subdivisions, commercial and residential leasing, property development, hotel franchising and estate planning including trusts and wills. Her clients have included local and overseas individuals, developers, landlords, property investors, trusts, business owners, real estate agents, property managers and Body Corporate Managers.

Liza also has specialist legal expertise in unit title and body corporate matters and the Unit Titles Act 2010 (which replaced the Unit Titles Act 1972 on 20 June 2011). She provides advice to Bodies Corporate and their committees, individual unit owners, Body Corporate Managers, building managers, vendors, purchasers, developers and surveyors on all aspects of unit titles, management, maintenance and repairs, compliance with the old and new Acts, Body Corporate rules and Body Corporate Manager service contracts.

Liza’s interest in the unit titles area has led her to become an expert in the new Unit Titles Act 2010 and the transition from the 1972 Act. She has written and presented seminars on the new Act, Body Corporate Rules and unit title conveyancing to members of the Auckland District Law Society, real estate agents, property investors and Body Corporate Managers. She has also presented on survey aspects of the Unit Titles Act 2010 for the New Zealand Institute of Surveyors at their local 2009 and 2010 conferences and in August 2011 she presented a seminar roadshow on the new Act for the Institute around the South and North Islands. Liza has written submissions on the new Act and various articles in this area. She has contributed to her client's own newsletters on the changes in the Act, reviewed the Brookers Unit Titles Handbook, and contributed to the Surveyor’s Quarterly magazine.

Soon after the commencement of the new Unit Titles Act 2010, the Auckland District Law Society invited Liza to prepare a scoping report on the drafting of model rules for different types of unit title developments that could be adopted by Bodies Corporate under the new Act. The Society then asked Liza to draft three sets of model rules for residential, commercial/industrial and mixed use developments to be available as precedent Operational Rules for sale to solicitors, Bodies Corporate, unit owners, Body Corporate Managers and all other sectors of the unit titles industry nationwide. She has also been invited to present at the annual Tenancy Tribunal Adjudicator's conference on the new Act in late 2011.

Liza also advises real estate agents on compliance issues and has made written contributions to the REINZ magazine and seminars for agents in senior management roles on the deposit regime, commissions and selling leaky buildings. She also has a particular expertise in the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 and its 2010 amendments, and has written articles and presented on this topic for members of the Auckland District Law Society and property managers.

Liza has excellent research and opinion writing skills which are particularly useful when dealing with complicated property issues. She has also contributed to expert evidence opinions for insurance companies and other legal practitioners on conveyancing and property financing matters.

Liza is a member of the Auckland District Law Society Property Law Committee, the Auckland Womens’ Lawyers Association and the Auckland Downtown Rotary Club.

In her spare time Liza can usually be found doing 1 of 3 things, relaxing at her favourite café with friends, spending time with her husband James or orchestrating her next physical challenge. Her favourite challenge so far was being crowned a first time “Ironman” after crossing the finishing line at the New Zealand Ironman in Taupo in March 2010.
 

Shannon Langley

Shannon has completed a conjoint degree in Law with Honours and a BA majoring in Psychology.

Shannon’s Honours degree dissertation was about the issues facing leaky home buyers and owners and her awareness of these issues as well as other potential pitfalls helps her to provide relevant advice to vendors and purchasers. She has experience in drafting retail, commercial and office leases, rent reviews and renewals as well as enforcing terms of leases on defaulting tenants. Shannon has also documented asset planning for various clients including forming trusts, carrying out gifting and drafting wills.

Shannon has carried out financing and re-financing, acting for both lenders and borrowers, and has completed various company and commercial projects, including increasing of share capital, sales of company shares, and commercial documentation.

Shannon is committed to providing the best professional service as well as being approachable in her service delivery.

Outside of work, Shannon enjoys the company of family and friends and spending weekends away. She is an avid skier and enjoys adventure sports, having already crossed bungy-jumping, sky diving, sprint car racing, river boarding and rafting off her list.