Meet the Team

BRONWYN ARTHUR

(LLM, LLB (Hons), BA – Victoria University)

I am a solution focused, confident and trusted corporate lawyer and legal manager. In July 2016, with my colleague Patricia Noble, we established Arthur Noble Limited, a law company.

Since the establishment of our firm, I have had the opportunity to work as a senior solicitor locum for the Department of Conservation and Te Puni Kōkiri. I have had contracts with the Ministry for Primary Industries and Auckland Council for specific projects. I have also provided advice to individuals and I am assisting a barrister with claims under the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011. It has been satisfying to put to use the various strands of my legal experience.

The majority of my career has been with Government legal services, most recently as Chief Legal Advisor at the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA). I moved to Christchurch in April 2011, on secondment, to establish a legal team within CERA. The work proved to be so challenging and interesting that I stayed for the five-year life of CERA. As a lawyer, my practice developed from public administrative law with a resource management focus to include commercial property, procurement and contract work. As a manager, I built a legal team from scratch and worked closely with senior management within a very political environment.

Prior to CERA, I worked for the Crown Law Office. I commenced in 1997 as Crown Counsel within the Land and Resource Management Team. In 2003, I was appointed as the Team Leader and in 2004, after a restructuring, I was appointed Team Leader of the larger Natural Resources Team until my resignation in January 2012.

During my time at Crown Law I worked with many Departments and their Ministers providing advice on broadly environmental issues including those covered by resource management, conservation, land, fisheries, forests, local government, hazards and heritage legislation. I appeared throughout the Court hierarchy from local authority hearings through to the Supreme Court (and one case before the Privy Council) particularly on natural resources and public administrative law issues. Due to my resource management expertise, I assisted in Treaty of Waitangi Settlements and the drafting of the foreshore and seabed legislation.

My initial legal experience was in a medium-sized city and then a small rural legal practice. After a couple of years in general legal practice, I started working within Government legal departments at the Ministry for the Environment. As one of the drafters of the Resource Management Act 1991 and its amendments, I gained experience with environmental law and the development of legislation.
I have been a practicing lawyer for over 30 years. I am an acknowledged expert in resource management and natural resources issues but as a Government lawyer my experience is much wider and includes many aspects of administrative/public law including procurement and managing contracts. My work has ranged from initial policy development, through public consultation and drafting of legislation, including shepherding it through the Parliamentary process, to providing advice on statutes and defending decisions within the Court structure.

Over the years, I have managed a number of very competent lawyers and undertaken the administrative requirements to lead those teams from start up, to inheriting a mature team to restructuring.

I was humbled to receive the Public Sector In-House Lawyer of the Year Award in 2012 for my work in helping to establish CERA. In February 2016, I was recognised in the Legal 500 GC Powerlist: Australia and New Zealan.

Bronwyn Arthur (LLM, LLB (Hons), BA – Victoria University, Wellington.

BRONWYN ARTHUR

PATRICIA NOBLE

(BSc, LLB, MBA – University of Canterbury)

Practical, determined and thoughtful lawyer.

My legal career has mainly been as in-house lawyer with government agencies with some private general practice. I have work for Civil Aviation Authority in aviation law and air accident investigations, and with Child, Youth and Family to build residential youth justice facilities in Palmerston North, Auckland, Christchurch and Rotoura.

Over the last five years I was focused on rebuild and infrastructure projects in Christchurch following the Canterbury Earthquakes. As in-house lawyer at the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority initially working on the central city demolitions programme, dealing with contract disputes, including to the Building Disputes Tribunal, land contamination issues and heritage buildings. I appeared in the Environment Court for the Hagley Oval resource consent to be built in Hagley Park in time for the 2015 Cricket World Cup, worked out legal solutions for land and consenting issues to progress the Christchurch Hospital Redevelopment and Health Research and Education Facility, was part of the project team involved with procuring and negotiating design and construction contracts for the Christchurch Bus Interchange and Metro Sports Facility.

Arthur Noble Limited is now celebrating its first year as a fledgling law firm. It has been very exciting and we are humbled by the support and encouragement that we have received. Highlights for me include locuming as Senior Legal Advisor at the Department of Internal Affairs working in the increasingly complex area of information technology, including privacy implications; and as project lawyer for the Canterbury schools rebuild infrastructure team to re-establish a school in Christchurch under the Greater Christchurch Regeneration Act 2016.

Legal and project teams are often faced with competing tensions – policy considerations, commercial imperatives and political realities. In an increasingly changing world, a legal framework is an ever-useful tool to navigate these tensions. It can provide a solid foundation and pathway for the people who have the responsibility of delivery to take the next steps. My focus is to be a practical and determined lawyer who thinks through the challenges and provides legal pathways that help to achieve great outcomes.

Patricia Noble (LLB, BSc, MBA – University of Canterbury, Christchurch).