We work with clients of all sizes. Some use our expertise for a broad range of legal advice and others only need our help on a particular issue. Being small means we can be agile and innovative, and tailor our approach to best fit our clients’ needs. 

Governance, strategy and project related advice  

There are many elements to good governance. Understanding legal frameworks is one thing, but strong relationship management, strategy, risk management, and accountability systems are also essential components.  

We provide a wide range of governance-related services, bringing a practical, strategic focus to both governance of projects/programmes and also organisational governance. 

Our advice has included advising on public sector probity, management of conflicts of interest and management of reputational risk, and independent reviews and evaluations.  

We are comfortable advising boards, managers, and external stakeholders alike. For more extensive reviews or projects we collaborate with other Interwoven members.  

Facilitating Agreements

We help clients conclude their deals, whether for IT and telecommunications , general services, funding, or research and commercialisation. On these deals, we provide procurement advice, recommend deal structures, lead or assist in negotiations, handle contract drafting, and provide recommendations for contract management.  

Information Technology 

We have probably advised on every type of IT-related contract there is.  Our work includes negotiating and integrating two, parallel, cloud-based agreements for the online marking of secondary school examinations.  We also prepared an agreement for the agile development of the Education Resourcing System which provides annual funding for New Zealand schools. The IT contracts we've worked on include: 

·       software licenses 
·       end user licenses 
·       traditional software development  
·       agile software development  
·       system support  
·       escrow 
·       website development 
·       hardware procurement 
·       hosting 
·       IaaS 
·       SaaS 
·       outsourcing 
·       managed services 
·       ITIL based agreements 

Telecoms 

We have advised on many types of telecommunications agreements, including an agreement for the provision of safe and secure internet to New Zealand schools nationwide.  The telecoms contracts we've worked on include: 

·       telecommunications hardware procurement  
·       fixed voice and data services 
·       national IP network services 
·       mobile voice services 
·       video conferencing services 

Services 

We have drafted hundreds of service agreements for many different organisations.  It is our bread and butter. The service contracts we've worked on include: 

·       terms of trade 
·       online terms of use  
·       contractors 
·       panel arrangements 
·       scholarships 
·       data licenses 
·       NDAs 
·       guarantees 
·       bonds 

Procurement 

We frequently advise across the full procurement lifecycle, on projects small and large.  As a Gateway reviewer, we have also reviewed some of the Government’s largest projects and programmes. The procurement contracts we've worked on include: 

·       open and closed procurements, with various stages  
·       syndicated agreements 
·       public-private sector collaboration agreement 

Funding 

We’ve advised on many different funding agreements, particularly for the Ministry of Research and Technology where we set up funding agreements to support the Government’s $600 million annual funding of New Zealand science organisations.  Other significant agreements include funding for the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gas and funding to manage the PSA outbreak.  We also provided funding templates for most of NZ On Air’s funding. The funding contracts we've worked on include: 

·       unconditional grants 
·       output funding 
·       project funding  
·       ongoing funding 
·       co-funding  
·       fund management  

Research and Commercialisation 

When working for Industrial Research Limited (now Callaghan Innovation), we drafted a great many research and commercialisation agreements.  The research and commercialisation contracts we've worked on include: 

·       research  
·       collaboration  
·       co-operation 
·       research and development 
·       material transfer  
·       product supply  
·       reseller 
·       distributor 
·       commercialisation licenses 
·       research

Contracting guide

Our Guide to New Zealand Government Contracting, provides a comprehensive grounding on the nuts and bolts of contracting for and with New Zealand government organisations.  The guide gives commercial specialists, procurement professionals, senior managers and lawyers the information they need to understand the complex world of government contracting. It helps staff at all levels, as well those advising or contracting with them, navigate the contracting landscape with confidence and negotiate fair agreements that support each party's objectives and address key risks.