James Cairney

LLB (Hons) Senior Scholarship in Law

James is a regulatory and criminal litigator specialising in investigations and regulatory litigation arising in the health and safety and financial markets sectors.

He acts for private, corporate and government clients across a range of matters, including crisis management and critical incidents, government and private investigations, and trial and appellate court litigation.

Prior to joining Bankside in 2020, James was a litigation partner at law firm Meredith Connell. He has also been a Crown Prosecutor and has conducted numerous  trials involving serious criminal offending.

‍James has lectured Financial Markets Law at the University of Auckland’s law school. Earlier in his career, he received a number of academic prizes, including a Senior Scholarship from the University of Auckland’s Law faculty (top three in graduating year by GPA) and the Brookfields Lawyers Scholarship (awarded for  academic excellence).

Health and Safety, Critical Incidents, and Investigations

‍James represents and defends companies, individuals, insureds and other defendants in investigations and cases brought by WorkSafe New Zealand and Maritime New Zealand, following workplace fatalities and other serious and critical incidents.

Matters include:

• Acting for New Zealand Police in the first prosecutions taken against New Zealand Police, in this case under the Health and Safety at Work Act.
• Defending Electrix Limited in charges brought by WorkSafe New Zealand.
• Defending Sealord Group Limited in charges brought by Maritime New Zealand.
• Defending Whakaari Management Limited and members of the Buttle family in WorkSafe’s failed prosecutions over Whakaari White Island – the largest prosecution of its kind in New Zealand.
• Representing multiple medium to large scale PCBUs in investigations arising from workplace fatalities and critical incidents.
• Acting for interested parties on coronial inquiries.

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‍Financial Markets, Consumer Credit, and Fair Trading Litigation

‍Having previously lectured financial markets law, James regularly acts for and against the Financial Markets Authority in various criminal and civil proceedings.

James also acts on matters involving the Commerce Commission, including investigations and litigation under the Fair Trading Act and Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act.

Doyle's Guide 2026: recognised as a Leading Employment Law Barrister in New Zealand. 

Doyle’s Guide 2025: recognised as a Leading Employment Law Barrister in New Zealand.

Doyle’s Guide 2024: recognised as a Leading Criminal Defence Lawyer in Auckland.

• Finding, Freezing and Attaching Assets - A Multi-Jurisdictional Handbook (Jacobsen; 2016 Wolters Kluwer; New Zealand Chapter, Cairney and Morrison).