Monday 1 July 2019
AJ Park is proud to employ brilliant minds and promote bold leaders
AJ Park is pleased to announce the promotion of five senior associates to principal, and one associate to senior associate. The promotions are effective today, 1 July 2019.
We also welcome new principal, Sam Pearson, and new senior associate, Natalie Harre, to the firm.
Promotions
Congratulations to Dr James Robinson, Jonathan Aumonier-Ward, Kieran O’Connell, Margot Smith and Matthew Hayes who today become principals of AJ Park.
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Dr James Robinson, Principal James’s role involves filing and prosecuting patent applications, drafting patent specifications, advising clients on patent filing strategies, patent validity and infringement issues, and conducting patentability and freedom to operate searches on their behalf. |
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Jonathan Aumonier-Ward, Principal Jonathan is acknowledged by the World Trademark Review as one of New Zealand’s leading IP practitioners, with ‘a nose for commercial solutions to diverse trade mark and copyright issues’. |
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Kieran O’Connell, Principal Most of Kieran’s clients are local companies, such as outdoor apparel manufacturers, craft beer brewers, and organic food companies. His international clients include well-known multinationals in the electronics, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries. A highlight of Kieran’s working career has been providing advice around New Zealand’s flag change referendum—a project he describes as fascinating and unique. |
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Margot Smith, Principal Approachable, commercially astute and pragmatic, Margot is a big-picture person who likes to get to know her clients’ businesses and find solutions to fit their needs, plans, and budgets. One of Margot’s specialist areas is in protecting non-traditional trade marks. These include shape, colour, and sound trade marks. Margot has a track record of obtaining protection for clients in this particularly tricky area of trade mark law. |
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Matt Hayes, Principal Matt helps clients across all industry sectors. He has specialist copyright expertise and regularly advises clients in the areas of information and communications technology, software, and the media/creative/design industries. Matt is noted by his clients for delivering expert advice in a pragmatic and business-oriented manner. Matt represents clients before the New Zealand Courts, the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand, and IP Australia. He also regularly works with overseas associates to oversee litigation and administrative actions before IP offices in other foreign jurisdictions for local exporters. |
Managing director, Damian Broadley, says these promotions are all well-deserved.
These five have been with the firm for many years and are all recognised as experts in their respective areas of specialty. They each add their own unique combination of insight, skills and experience to the principal group. They all represent the values of AJ Park, have worked very hard, and fully deserve these promotions. I wish them well for the years ahead as leaders in the firm.
We also congratulate Daniel Hearn, who has been promoted to senior associate.
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Daniel Hearn, Senior Associate Daniel advises clients on the strategic use and protection of their IP, including patent, copyright and registered design matters, as well as other tricky issues clients face in the IP space. His particular specialty is in the area of mechanical patents, and he is adept at providing pragmatic strategies for all types of clients, from inventors to multinationals, on using their IP wisely. |
Dan is a good attorney and a real asset to AJ Park.
- Damian Broadley, Managing Director
New appointments
We are delighted to welcome new principal, Sam Pearson, and new senior associate, Natalie Harre, to the firm.
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Sam Pearson, Principal Sam's experience working as a qualified attorney in New Zealand and Australia, together with his experience of European and UK practice, provides him with a strong international perspective on patent drafting and prosecution. |
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Natalie Harre, Senior Associate Natalie has extensive experience advising on a range of IP matters, such as trade marks, copyright, patents, border protection, parallel importing, consumer law (including issues under the Fair Trading Act and Consumer Guarantees Act), advertising review/clearance advice and social media. |
We congratulate our staff on their promotions and extend a warm welcome to our two new appointments. These promotions and appointments celebrate the achievements of our people and reflect AJ Park’s reputation as a great place to work.