Daria Withers

Daria is a senior corporate and commercial lawyer, specialising in public and private mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and corporate governance.

Daria advises clients on business transactions, initial public offerings (IPOs), capital raisings, corporate governance, listing rule compliance, joint ventures, shareholder arrangements, overseas investment, and commercial contracting. She also acts for major US film studios with respect to a range of film and television productions, focusing on their corporate structuring, production documentation, and grant requirements.

She often works closely with MinterEllison in Australia on trans-Tasman M&A deals, as well as advising Australian issuers on their ability to extend their IPOs into New Zealand in reliance on our mutual recognition regime.

Daria’s clients operate in a range of sectors and are located both domestically and offshore. She is well-versed in bringing international clients up to speed with local law and market practice. Her expertise extends to New Zealand companies, financial markets, and overseas investment laws, as well as the NZX listing rules.

Having been seconded to work in-house several times, she has an appreciation for what stakeholders, both internal and external, might need from the clients she is advising, and she keeps that perspective in mind when tailoring her advice.

Daria enjoys both project management, where she works with clients and other advisers to get deals across the line, and technical drafting and analysis where she can delve into the detail to ensure the best results for her clients. In all aspects of her work, Daria applies a commercial eye and can be trusted to get the job done, while providing top quality legal advice.