Partner - Auckland

Nick Malarao

Nick is among New Zealand’s best civil litigators, with an impressive track record of helping clients navigate high-stakes proceedings.

Nick is among New Zealand’s best civil litigators, with an impressive track record of helping clients navigate high-stakes proceedings.

Nick Malarao

About

Nick has appeared at every level of New Zealand’s court system. In 2019, he argued New Zealand’s first substantive and precedent-setting directors’ duties case before the Supreme Court. He has appeared in or supervised more than 100 directors’ duties proceedings in the High Court and has supervised hundreds of liquidation and bankruptcy cases.
Among others, he acts for government departments and agencies, public and private companies, and high-net-worth clients – often working alongside insolvency teams from New Zealand’s leading accountancy firms.
Nick represented Inland Revenue in contentious and complicated prosecutions, negotiating outcomes with commercial entities and high net worth individuals. He has devised innovative solutions within and outside the Companies Act 1993 and Property Law Act 2007 to pursue and secure outstanding debts on behalf of the Crown.
Alongside his legal qualifications, Nick has an undergraduate degree in accounting and his expertise in particularly called upon in matters with a financial focus. In 2018, he sat on the government’s Tax Working Group, chaired by Sir Michael Cullen, which considered improvements to New Zealand’s tax system.

Recent Cases & Achievements

Madsen-Ries v Salus Safety Equipment Limited (in liquidation) [2022] NZCA 101, [2022] NZCCLR 12

Breach of natural justice and liquidators' remuneration.

Commissioner of Inland Revenue v Parore [2021] NZHC 420(2021) 30 NZTC 25-001

Inland Revenue’s appeal against dismissal of GST evasion charges.

Debut Homes Ltd (in liq) v Cooper [2020] NZSC 100, [2021] 1 NZLR 43, (2020) 29 NZTC 234-08

First substantive directors' duties argued before the Supreme Court.

Chen v Wu [2020] NZHC 3302, (2020) 33 FRNZ 644

Intestacy and overseas adoption.

Walls v Ulsterman Holdings Limited (in liquidation) [2019] NZCA 365, (2019) 24 PRNZ 623

Case involving an argument that certain rules in the High Court Rules breach the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act.

Commissioner of Inland Revenue v Robertson [2018] NZHC 696, (2018) 12 NZCLC 98-060, (2018) 28 NZTC 23-055

Breach of duties by liquidator.

Credentials

Admitted as NZ Barrister and Solicitor, 1999

LLB/BCom (majoring in Accounting), University of Auckland

Member of Restructuring, Insolvency and Turnaround Association of New Zealand (RITANZ)