ABOUT
Trust Lawyer & Specialist
John Brown - barrister, provides specialist advice provides specialist advice to professional advisers on issues relating to trusts, asset/succession planning and business life insurance.
John’s extensive experience includes assisting senior lawyers and barristers with trust advice and litigation; working as a commercial trust lawyer & specialist; and the use of trusts in the important, but relatively unknown area of business protection and succession planning. John possesses extensive commercial interests and a network of contacts as a barrister and Chartered Life Underwriter.
"John has been able to provide expert Trust and Estate Planning advice to corporate organisations, to lawyers, to clients seeking advice and in my case, to assist with specialized litigation advice. I have found John's contribution extremely helpful and valuable. It...contributed to the successful outcome of client cases. These have included situations where other professionals had been unable to come up with solutions and he was able to assist in reaching successful outcomes."
Helen Cull QC (now the Honourable Justice Helen Cull of the High Court of New Zealand)
Publication
John's published works include New Zealand Trust Reports (NZTR), New Zealand Trusts and Asset Planning Guide and co-author of New Zealand Master Trusts Guide (CCH NZ Ltd/ Wolters Kluwer). NZTR reports the latest leading cases from the New Zealand High Court and appellate Courts and equips barristers, solicitors and other trust practitioners, with the most up-to-date court decisions. This specialist report series will be increasingly important in the landscape of the Trusts Act 2019, as court decisions interpreting the new legislation emerge.
“Through CCH NZ …John has produced an ongoing collection of trust cases and edited these cases with head note summaries of each case and an index and digest of cases as they are reported. I have personally found this source book invaluable and I expect many other practitioners would agree”.
Peter D McKenzie CNZM QC
Professional development
Passionate about professional development, John speaks to lawyers, accountants and insurance brokers on issues and developments in trust law and business succession planning. John engages with professional bodies including the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and the Auckland Trust Special Interest Group, Chartered Accountants of Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ).
John is currently based in France from where he continues to provide professional services to New Zealand practitioners. John also assists French professional advisors in trust related matters. He is able to connect New Zealand practitioners with leading French practitioners engaged in this area.