About Me

Joanne is an experienced commercial and civil litigator, with over 15 years’ experience. Joanne started her legal career working in dispute resolution at Simpson Grierson (a top tier national law firm) from 2008 until 2021; since then she’s been working as special counsel at Edmonds Judd in the mighty Waikato. Joanne became a partner at Edmonds Judd in November 2024.

Joanne regularly represents clients in various courts and tribunals across the country. She specialises in the resolution of commercial and civil disputes, particularly those involving commercial contracts, trusts and estates, relationship property, media/social media issues, negligence, and intellectual property.

Joanne enjoys helping clients resolve disputes and providing them with pragmatic, commercially sensible advice. She knows that the issues our clients bring to us are important to them, so she makes sure that she listens to clients and their objectives, and keeps them well informed and involved in the process from start to finish.

While she loves a good battle in the courtroom, Joanne knows that court is not always going to be the best option for clients, so she will work with clients to resolve disputes not just in the courtroom, but also utilising a number of dispute resolution techniques outside of the courtroom; including negotiation, mediation, and expert determinations.

Career highlights so far:

• Successfully defending our client against a defamation claim brought in the Auckland High Court in a three-week trial, using the defence of responsible reporting on a matter of public interest – despite the client not being a journalist! We were also successful in defending an appeal of this decision to the Court of Appeal in Wellington and opposing an application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court. Christian v Bain [2022] NZHC 3394; Christian v Bain [2023] 3 NZLR 859 (CA); Christian v Bain [2024] NZSC 35.
• Obtaining indemnity costs for our client following a successful summary judgment application decision to throw out a contract/bill of exchange proceeding brought against our client in the North Shore District Court. Perry v Ingham Auckland Motors Ltd [2024] NZDC 13078; [2024] NZDC 16729.
• Successful defence of application for interim injunction to reinstate contractual relationship pending trial. Considerations included necessity for our client to provide a safe working environment for its employees. A Ltd v C Ltd (No 1) [2018] NZHC 2111. Permanent suppression orders were also obtained with respect to the identities of the parties. A Ltd v C Ltd [2018] NZHC 3433.
• Appearing in an eight-day trial in the Auckland High Court in a successful defence of alleged breaches of the Fair Trading Act and claims about passing off concerning the use of similar brand names in the greater Auckland market. Also appeared in the successful defence of an appeal to the Court of Appeal. National Mini Storage v National Storage [2017] NZHC 2295; [2017] NZHC 1775.
• Working with a variety of clients to negotiate the resolution of contentious relationship property matters, including those involving trusts, companies, and estates.
• Working with a variety of clients in respect of shareholder and franchise disputes, and resolving disputes around the enforceability of various restraint of trade provisions.
• Acting for a copyright owner to successfully seek an interim urgent injunction to restrain infringement of copyright in GPU rendering software, including having the defendant’s defence struck out, and obtaining additional damages for copyright infringement in the High Court following a formal proof hearing. Otoy New Zealand Ltd v Kozlov [2017] NZHC 1485; Otoy New Zealand Limited v Kozlov [2017] NZHC 2294.
• Successful defence of interim injunction and summary judgment applications in the High Court for breaches of the Fair Trading Act alleged in respect of statements on dry cat food packaging. Nestlé New Zealand Limited v Mars New Zealand Limited [2014] NZHC 1837.
• Working with the team representing Sky Network Television Limited in respect of copyright infringement claims concerning use of extracts from Olympic Games and rugby broadcasts. Sky Network Television Limited v TVNZ, NZME Publishing Ltd, MediaWorks TV Ltd & MediaWorks Holdings Ltd [2017] NZHC 2750.
• Acting for a client in respect of various High Court proceedings and appeals to the Court of Appeal relating to the intellectual property in a portable sawmill and the enforcement of a settlement agreement. Peterson v Lucas [2015] NZCA 627; Peterson v Lucas [2015] NZHC 721; Peterson v Lucas [2013] NZCA 641; [2013] NZCA 453; [2012] NZHC 2830; [2012] NZHC 1101.
• Successful defence of an application to strike out a claim under the Copyright Act brought by an artist to protect his moral rights in his artwork. Radford v Hallenstein Bros Ltd [2009] DCR 907.
• Successfully obtained a defendants’ summary judgment in a High Court defamation proceeding in reliance on a defence of qualified privilege. Ware v Johnson [2014] NZHC 892.
• Acting for third and fourth respondents in successful defence of an application for judicial review challenging the lawfulness of a decision to grant OIO approval for an overseas entity to purchase shares in Westland Dairy Company Limited. New Zealand Democratic Party for Social Credit Inc v Minister for Land Information [2020] NZHC 2816.