Jeremy Johnson

Present Position

Partner, Wynn Williams. Jeremy is available to accept appointments as an arbitrator

Professional Experience

Jeremy is an experienced litigator and dispute resolution specialist with particular expertise in commercial, insolvency, equity and trust law. He has offices in both Christchurch and Auckland and is a member of the firm's board. Jeremy has an ability to quickly grasp a legal situation and provide accurate, commercially realistic advice at short notice. He regularly appears before courts at all levels.

Jeremy is the youngest person to have become a Fellow of the Arbitrators' and Mediators' Institute of New Zealand for Arbitration and is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. He is available to appear as counsel in arbitrations and to take appointments as an arbitrator. Jeremy also received the Sir Ronald Davison Award for excellence in arbitral award writing.

Jeremy is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and holds a STEP Advanced Certificate in Trust Disputes, placing first in his global class.

Jeremy is recognised as being a leader in his field by the 2019 Chambers Asia Pacific and Chambers Global, and the 2019 Legal 500 global legal directories. One comment stated that Jeremy is an “excellent strategic litigator and thinker. He is very responsive and well regarded by other practitioners, which makes negotiations more streamlined.”

Previous directories said that Jeremy was “an excellent young lawyer who has a sharp intellect, and is a good tactician and a very good communicator. His approach in court is courteous and disarming" while one impressed client enthused that he is "probably the most outstanding young lawyer I have ever met”.

Jeremy was awarded the 2017 NZ Law Awards Artemis Executive Recruitment Young Private Practice Lawyer of the Year (under 35). Being described as "a clear winner in this category", the judges praised Jeremy for having an impressive career to date.

Jeremy has a BA and LLB (Hons) from the University of Canterbury and an LLM, with first class honours, from the University of Cambridge.

Appointments

  • Fellow of the Arbitrators and Mediators Institute of New Zealand (AMINZ)
  • Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
  • Member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP)
  • Deputy legal Advisor to the Archbishop of New Zealand
  • Chancellor (honorary legal advisor) of the Anglican Diocese of Christchurch
  • Fellow of Christ’s College
  • President of the Christ’s College Old Boys’ Association
  • Member of Te Kaunihera – a governing body of the College of St John the Evangelist
  • Member of the Legislation Design Advisory Committee
  • Life member of the New Zealand Schools’ Debating Council Inc

Publications

  • The Arbitration of Trust Disputes: Opportunities and Risks (The Arbitrator and Mediator December 2014)
  • Directors' and Officers' policies [2014] NZLJ 126
  • Farewell to Hastings-Bass [2013] NZLJ 249
  • Peer-to-peer filesharing [2013] NZLJ 172
  • Steigrad v BFSL 2007 Ltd [2012] NZCA 604
  • Plain packaging for tobacco [2012] NZLJ 246
  • Earthquakes, mortgagees and lessees [2011] NZLJ 301
  • Contract: missed opportunity? [2010] NZLJ 50
  • ‘Anti-smacking law’ and judicial review [2009] NZLJ 11(Link)

Speciality Areas

  • Commercial
  • Equity and trusts

Qualifications

BA, LLB (Hons) (Cant), LLM (Camb), FAMINZ (Arb), TEP, FClArb