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Norling Law, Level 1/55 Corinthian Drive, Albany (2026)

29/07/2026

Not getting paid on a construction project is one of the most common disputes we see. It’s also one of the most preventable.

The Construction Contracts Act gives contractors, subcontractors, and consultants a specific set of tools to recover unpaid amounts: quickly, and without the cost and delay of standard litigation. The adjudication process under the Act is designed to resolve payment disputes in weeks.

But the process has strict requirements that most people only discover when they’ve already missed something.

Payment claims must be served in the right form and at the right time. The responding party must issue a payment schedule within strict timeframes: fail to do that, and the full claimed amount can become immediately payable.

Adjudication decisions are binding and enforceable even while disputed through other means.

The Act also applies more broadly than most assume. Professional consultants, design services, and some residential contracts can all fall within its scope.

On the other side: if you’ve received a payment claim you weren’t expecting or aren’t sure how to respond to, the deadline to issue a payment schedule is short. Getting that response wrong, or missing it, can have significant financial consequences.

Whether you’re trying to recover unpaid amounts or respond to a claim, specialist advice before the deadlines pass is what determines your options.
norlinglaw.co.nz/book-a-consultation/

Norling Law is a specialist Litigation and Dispute Resolution Law firm with a core focus on Insolvency and Restructuring.

27/07/2026

If your business owes IRD money, a repayment arrangement isn’t always the right first move, and entering one without advice can make things harder, not easier.

IRD has formal processes for managing outstanding debt: instalment arrangements, partial settlements, and in some cases compromise of debt through a statutory process. Each has different requirements, different implications for penalties and interest, and different consequences if things go wrong.

What most directors don’t know going in: IRD can decline an arrangement it considers unrealistic. A missed payment can void it entirely and trigger immediate enforcement action. And agreeing to an arrangement doesn’t resolve the penalties and interest already accrued; those often need to be addressed separately.

With IRD now funded to pursue outstanding debt more actively in 2026, the gap between first contact and formal enforcement is shortening. That means the window to negotiate on favourable terms is also narrower than it was.

The directors who navigate IRD debt positions most effectively tend to have one thing in common: they got specialist legal advice before agreeing to anything, not after the arrangement had already been set, or broken.

If your business has outstanding IRD debt and you’re unsure what the right approach is, that’s exactly the conversation we’re here to have.

Book at norlinglaw.co.nz/book-a-consultation/

Norling Law is a specialist Litigation and Dispute Resolution Law firm with a core focus on Insolvency and Restructuring.

24/07/2026

When IRD serves a statutory demand, the clock starts.

15 working days to pay, dispute, or compound the debt. If that window closes without action, the company is presumed insolvent, and IRD will apply to the Court for liquidation.

It moves faster than most directors expect.

The time to negotiate an arrangement with IRD, or to explore restructuring options, is before a statutory demand is served. Once it is, the options narrow and the timeframes compress.

If your business has outstanding IRD debt and you’re unsure how serious it is, that question is worth answering now.
norlinglaw.co.nz/book-a-consultation/

Norling Law is a specialist Litigation and Dispute Resolution Law firm with a core focus on Insolvency and Restructuring.

22/07/2026

Our insolvency team has been named a Top Specialist Law Firm 2026 by Australasian Lawyer and NZ Lawyer, recognised alongside 73 firms across Australia and New Zealand.

The judges looked for firms that stay deliberately narrow rather than chase broad revenue, measure success by client outcomes rather than billable hours, and earn trust over the years rather than transactions. That's the same approach our insolvency practice has built its name on, and it's why Legal 500 Asia Pacific has ranked us in Restructuring and Insolvency every year from 2020 to 2024 and now 2026 as well.

Our purpose has always been to guide people through uncertainty. This recognition tells us that focus is still the right way to practise law.

Thank you to our clients and our team for the trust that got us here.

Norling Law is a specialist Litigation and Dispute Resolution Law firm with a core focus on Insolvency and Restructuring.

20/07/2026

Tax debt and insolvency are more connected than most directors realise, and IRD’s increased funding in 2026 is going to make that connection more visible.

The pattern we see regularly: a business falls behind on GST or PAYE. IRD makes contact. A repayment arrangement is discussed, then missed. A statutory demand follows. By that point, the options that were available six months earlier have narrowed considerably.

IRD has been given more funding this year specifically to pursue outstanding debt. That means this cycle is going to accelerate for businesses already under financial pressure. The volume of insolvency proceedings that trace back to unpaid tax is already significant. That number is going to grow.

The tools to manage an IRD debt position exist: instalment arrangements, partial settlements, formal compromise processes, restructuring options. But they require time to execute and a clear strategy to work from.

The directors who fare best in these situations are not the ones with the smallest debts. They’re the ones who engaged specialist advice before the demand arrived.

If your business is carrying outstanding IRD debt and you’re uncertain about where it’s heading, that uncertainty is itself worth addressing.

Book at norlinglaw.co.nz/book-a-consultation/

Norling Law is a specialist Litigation and Dispute Resolution Law firm with a core focus on Insolvency and Restructuring.

17/07/2026

Most shareholder disputes don’t begin with a dramatic falling out.

They begin with a decision made without consulting the other shareholders.

Or a direction the company took that one director didn’t agree with. Or a dividend that wasn’t paid when it should have been.

By the time someone calls a lawyer, the relationship has usually been breaking down for months, sometimes years. The dispute has a name by then, but it’s been in motion for a long time.

What we see consistently: the earlier a dispute is properly framed and specialist advice is taken, the more options remain available. Negotiated buyouts, mediation, structured exits, Court-ordered remedies. Those options exist, but they require time and a clear legal position to work with.

The longer a dispute runs without structure, the fewer of those pathways survive.

If there is tension among your shareholders right now, even if it feels manageable or unlikely to escalate, it is worth understanding your legal position before it does.

We work on shareholder disputes, not shareholder agreement drafting. If you’re in a dispute, or can see one forming, that’s the work we’re built for.

Book at norlinglaw.co.nz/book-a-consultation/

Norling Law is a specialist Litigation and Dispute Resolution Law firm with a core focus on Insolvency and Restructuring.

08/07/2026

15 working days to pay, dispute, or compound the debt. If that window closes without action, the company is presumed insolvent, and IRD can apply to the Court for liquidation.

It moves faster than most directors expect.

The time to negotiate an arrangement with IRD, or to explore restructuring options, is before a statutory demand is filed. Once it is, the options narrow and the timeframes compress.

If your business has outstanding IRD debt and you’re unsure how serious it is, that question is worth answering now.

norlinglaw.co.nz/book-a-consultation/

Norling Law is a specialist Litigation and Dispute Resolution Law firm with a core focus on Insolvency and Restructuring.

06/07/2026

When a shareholder dispute reaches a breaking point, most people assume litigation is the only path forward.

It sometimes is, and it’s often not the only one.

Depending on the circumstances, the company structure, and what each party actually wants, there are typically several options available. A negotiated buyout at an agreed or independently assessed value. Mediation with a specialist facilitator.

A Court-ordered remedy under the Companies Act, including orders to purchase shares, restrain conduct, or wind the company up. Or a structured exit that allows the business to continue without the relationship that’s broken down.

Which of those makes sense depends on a clear-eyed assessment of the legal position, what leverage each party holds, and what a realistic outcome looks like given the specific dispute.

What determines which options remain available is almost always timing. Early advice preserves paths. Delayed advice closes them, and increases the cost of every remaining one.

We also see disputes where one party has already taken legal or strategic steps before the other side has advice. That asymmetry matters, and it compounds quickly.

If you’re in a shareholder dispute, or watching one develop, the most important step right now is understanding what your position actually is, and what options remain open to you.

Book at norlinglaw.co.nz/book-a-consultation/

Norling Law is a specialist Litigation and Dispute Resolution Law firm with a core focus on Insolvency and Restructuring.

03/07/2026

5 signs your shareholder dispute is already underway, even if no one has called it that yet:

1. Decisions are being made without full shareholder or board sign-off
2. One shareholder is being excluded from information they’re entitled to
3. Dividend policy has become a consistent point of conflict
4. A shareholder is acting in their own interests rather than the company’s
5. Communication between shareholders has shifted from direct to formal, or stopped altogether

None of these is minor. Each one is a signal that the underlying relationship has fractured or changed.

The options available to you depend significantly on how early you get specialist advice.

If you recognise any of these, it’s worth a conversation.
norlinglaw.co.nz/book-a-consultation/

Norling Law is a specialist Litigation and Dispute Resolution Law firm with a core focus on Insolvency and Restructuring.

01/07/2026

NZ civil litigation changed on 1 January 2026, and most businesses entering a dispute haven’t fully registered what that means for them yet.

The new High Court rules shift the orientation of the entire process. Less procedural skirmishing, earlier exchange of evidence, mandatory cooperation between parties, and a judge-led Judicial Issues Conference that identifies the real issues before the matter progresses further.

For individuals and businesses in a dispute, the practical effect is this: you need to be better prepared, earlier. Initial disclosure of documents, including any that support the other side’s case, happens alongside the first pleadings.

Witness statements and a draft chronology of events are exchanged within weeks of the last pleading being filed.

That front-loaded approach is designed to reduce overall costs and time. But it also means the quality of your preparation from day one matters more than ever.

The upside: earlier visibility of the other side’s evidence, faster clarity on where a case actually stands, and a more predictable path to resolution, whether through a negotiated settlement or a focused trial.

Our litigation team is already structured for this approach. If you are entering High Court proceedings or are already in them, it’s worth understanding how the new rules affect your position.

Jeanne Cordeiro has written a full breakdown on the Norling Law blog.
norlinglaw.co.nz/blog-posts/new-high-court-rules-key-changes/

Norling Law is a specialist Litigation and Dispute Resolution Law firm with a core focus on Insolvency and Restructuring.

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Monday	9am - 5:30pm
Tuesday	9am - 5:30pm
Wednesday	9am - 5:30pm
Thursday	9am - 5:30pm
Friday	9am - 5:30pm