Jeff Walters, partner at law firm Lowndes Associates took on the hot topic of Auckland housing in the latest opinion piece in the New Zealand Herald.

Highlighting the demand and struggle to enter the property market Mr Walters recommended a strategy to enable young families to purchase their first home.

The article struck a chord with the New Zealand Herald readers with the comments section providing an interesting cross-section of opinion.

Social media evangelist Jon Leland, one of the keynote speakers at the Lowndes Associates’ second Business Intelligence Series workshop for 2011, featured on TVOne’s AMP Business this week.

Lowndes Associates have been running their Business Intelligence Series workshops for over nine years, with the latest focusing on the importance of social media for businesses. The workshop took place at the Telecom Conference Centre on 25 August with more than 130 senior business people in attendance

During the AMP Business interview, Jon highlighted the practical relevance of social media to businesses and the opportunities offered by social media, as well as the risks of failure to engage with it. Jon emphasised that in not engaging, businesses risk being left in the dust.

Duncan Shand, from digital marketing agency Young and Shand, also appeared in the interview and shared his insights into the benefits of social media.

Click here to view the full interview.

Law firm Lowndes Associates received a mention in the Herald on Sunday, 01 May, regarding the ‘Secrets of the Silicon Valley’ seminars that will be held in New Zealand later this month.

Lowndes Associates is working in conjunction with David Smith, the founder of the Silicon Valley Business School, to conduct a number of seminars which aim to unlock the secrets of the Silicon Valley for New Zealand businesses.

Smith believes that high-tech Kiwi firms aiming to make it big in the United States often don’t understand the ‘basic rules’, but is confident that his ‘Seven Silicon Secrets’ are the key to helping New Zealand businesses enter the US market successfully.

To read the full article and find out more about the Silicon Valley seminar details click here.

Leading corporate and commercial law firm Lowndes Associates has recently appointed two new industry professionals to the Lowndes team. Denis McNamara and Warren Butterworth have joined Lowndes Associates in leading roles; Mr Butterworth as partner and Mr McNamara as consultant.

Mr Butterworth brings with him more than 40 years of commercial and office law experience. He has practiced as a litigator in a variety of cases in the High Court and Court of Appeal, and has acted as both mediator and counsel in a number of mediation cases.

Mark Lowndes, managing partner of Lowndes Associates says, “We are delighted to welcome Warren to our team, he is a great asset and we look forward to introducing him to our clients”.

With over thirty-five years experience as a barrister and solicitor at Simpson Grierson, Mr McNamara felt it was time for a new challenge. After weighing all options, he decided to join Lowndes Associates.

Mr McNamara says, “The culture Mark Lowndes has created at Lowndes Associates is innovative with a professional approach which adds value through excellence in providing legal services”.

Mark Lowndes says, “I have long been impressed by the breadth and depth of Denis’ interests and expertise in the legal profession, and am delighted by his decision to join our team.”

As a consultant of Lowndes Associates, Mr McNamara’s role will focus on a broad range of commercial and corporate law work.

Click here to read the full article.

The Weekend Herald spoke with Lowndes Associates consultant Mike Whale and William Black, partner at McGrathNicol about the current situation that Whitcoulls and Borders New Zealand find themselves in.

Lowndes Associates consultant Mike Whale said it was  hard to tell if the REDgroup administration would be a success.

Both Black and Whale said voluntary administrations had had limited success in New Zealand.

At Alexander Communications we hope they make it. Borders has been a favourite of many of us in the team for years and Whitcoulls is part of the fabric of New Zealand Society.

Strange days…

Click here for a link to the online version of the Weekend Herald article by Tamsyn Parker

Founder of corporate and commercial law firm Lowndes Associates, Mark Lowndes speaks with Niko Kloeten from The National Business Review about his appointment as chairman of Multilaw, one of the world’s largest legal networks. 

Mutlilaw has 6500 member laywers spread across 60 countries, with 71 member firms; Lowndes Associates has been a member for 10 years and is the only member firm in New Zealand.

Click here to read the full article and find out more about Multilaw.

Mark Lowndes Appeared on NZI Business TV on the morning of the debate with Corin Dann to headline why this debate is necessary now. The issues were also discussed in an article in the Sunday Star-Times headlined “Economic Union Aust-NZ unification slammed by Oram.” written by Lois Cairns

The debate was held between 7.30am – 9.30am, Wednesday 3 November 2010, Stamford Plaza, Auckland

Lowndes Associates and Unlimited magazine were pleased to host the fourth and final 2010 Business Intelligence breakfast workshop series. Now in their eighth year, these superior content-rich workshops are for busy executives, owners, directors, managers, advisers and corporate counsel.

Is it time to join forces with Australia? Many think so, many oppose the idea vehemently. What is the best answer for NZ business? The debate actually ended up persuading many in the room that it’s probably best to gradually do more effective business with our neighbours, but remain sovereign as New Zealand has more potential being in control of their own future. Time will tell.

As the Australian and New Zealand governments work to decrease the barriers between the two nations, Kiwi support for a Trans-Tasman merger is rising:

• Will a Trans-Tasman economic union boost the NZ economy?
• Will being part of a bigger market create more jobs and give better access to opportunities for careers and education?
• Will there be a level playing field for Kiwi businesses in Australia?

…read more about the workshops

Four outstanding speakers debated this important topic, two arguing for a union, and two arguing against:

Rod McGeochCo-Chair, Australia & New Zealand Leadership Council
Andrew Main Business Editor,The Australian
Rod Oram International Business Writer, former editor of Business Herald
Mark Weldon Chief Executive, NZX

Lowndes Associates and Unlimited magazine are pleased to host the 2010 Business Intelligence breakfast workshop series.  Now in their eighth year, these superior content-rich workshops are for busy executives, owners, directors, managers, advisers and corporate counsel.

You are invited to attend the up coming workshop Leadership and Top Performance in the New Environment, on Wednesday 29 September at the Stamford Plaza, Auckland, 7.30am – 9.30am.

Hear from three outstanding chief executives: How to build and lead a high performance team in the new environment. How to engage and train talent. The role of values and how they have changed.

Click here to find out more about the Business Intelligence seminars and how to register for workshops.

Mark Lowndes, of Lowndes Associates talks about this subject on www.unlimited.co.nz. He recently chaired his firm’s Business Intelligence Series workshop for more than 90 senior businesspeople on the topic of clean technology, or cleantech, and its progress in New Zealand and globally. As a result, he shares some insights on how New Zealand is poised to take advantage of what might be called the ‘cleantech revolution’

Click the link to find the whole article on the Unlimited website.

Lowndes Associates and Unlimited magazine are pleased to invite you to the 2010 Business Intelligence breakfast workshop series. Now in their eighth year, these superior content-rich workshops are for busy executives, owners, directors, managers, advisers and corporate counsel.

Learn more about:
Concept — the key initial questions: Will it work? Does the market want it? Will customers buy it?
People — how to find, motivate, reward and keep the people you need. Finding the right mix of skills.
Funding — once the seed capital has been spent, where do you find the development capital and funding for the longer term?
Development — getting to market without running out of money in the process.
Growth — when to bring in new talent and experience. Must the founding group stay in control?
Governance — getting the right balance of skills and experience on the board. Key issues for the directors and senior management.
Exit strategy — developing and executing a successful sale/divestment process.

Workshop two: Flying Kiwis: Startup to success — overcoming startup problems, is on 25 Wednesday August, 2010 from 7.30 – 9.30am at Auckland’s, Stamford Plaza.

For More information:

Click on to Unlimited.co.nz or at the Lowndes Associates Business Intelligence website