Bio

Cath Shirley-Brown is a corporate lawyer who specialises in public and private M&A (including distressed transactions), joint venture and shareholder arrangements, and corporate and commercial law generally. She has experience advising clients across a wide range of industries, including real estate, infrastructure, retail, energy, IT and finance. She also has experience advising central and local government entities on corporate and commercial matters, and specific expertise in advising on cross-border transactions. Prior to returning to the firm in May 2020, Cath was a partner at another large New Zealand law firm. She returned to New Zealand in 2018, having worked in London for a long period, at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, and latterly as a partner at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner. Cath is recognised by the Best Lawyers® 2024 New Zealand Guide for Mergers and Acquisitions Law and is named in the Legal 500 Asia Pacific Guide 2024 as a Next Generation Partner for Corporate M&A (New Zealand), as well as in the IFLR1000 as a Notable Practitioner in M&A and Real Estate Acquisitions. She has been recognised by The Legal 500 as a Next Generation Partner for Corporate and M&D, as well a recommended lawyer for upper-mid market deals (£250m+) in England. Cath co-authored the New Zealand Chapter in the Chambers and Partners Global Practice Guide 2023 - Private Equity. Cath also co-authored the New Zealand chapter in the ICLG - Mergers & Acquisitions 2024. She also contributes a number of articles to Thompson Reuters Practical Law - New Zealand on corporate matters and is a member of Global Women, a collective of ambassadors for Global Women with the goal of driving diversity in leadership in Aotearoa New Zealand.