Among the LawFuel power lawyers list, published this week, are a new group of inhouse legal counsel wielding considerable power in the increasing influence of inhouse counsel in New Zealand’s legal scene.
The recent collapse of SolarZero has seen the New Zealand Green Investment Fund’s future thrown into some doubt after the profile collapse when private equity giant BlackRock pulled the financial plug on the fund.
NZGIF’s General Counsel Ian Mackenzie has been actively handling deals for the Fund and is one of the featured General Counsel listed in LawFuel’s 2024 Power List:
General Counsel at New Zealand Green Investment Fund the Government-owned green investment bank focused on reducing the country’s carbon emissions based on green investments.
Mackenzie is leading the way by keeping significant transactions in-house that might have previously gone to external counsel, recently in conjunction with Transpower’s Head of Legal Chris Birkinshaw on a joint deal.
However the fund has struck major trouble recently with the collapse of SolarZero after the NZGIF put $115 million into the venture, backed by mega-equity fund BlackRock. The collapse of SolarZero, which was to install solar panels and batteries for domestic use under lease arrangements, has left creditors, including trade contractors and others, out of pocket to the tune of over $40 million and left the bank with a solid ‘please explain’ from the government.
BlackRock tipped SolarZero into liquidation in November after being advised by directors the company was no longer sustainable. With other investors, the NZ Green Investment Fund (NZGIF) had loaned money to the company to install solar panels and batteries in households under lease-type arrangements.
