Profile
“I will continue to empower and encourage my staff to perform at their best as I have done for the last decade. I will continue to advocate for my clients, embracing new technology and being open to business and industry changes”
Ken Dixon,
Dixon Insurance Services
Mary Hill, partner at Cooney Lees Morgan, is a sought-after litigator in public and environmental law. She appears in courts and tribunals at all levels of the judicial system, including the Supreme Court. She also has broad commercial experience and holds a Masters of Commercial Law specialising in competition law and intellectual property.
Over the past two decades, Hill has had a profound influence on New Zealand’s legal profession by mentoring women into leadership roles, helping young lawyers to sharpen their litigation skills and taking on senior resource management and local government responsibilities.
Hill is a former president of the Resource Management Law Association. She has chaired panels under the RMA’s fast-track consenting regime as part of New Zealand’s COVID recovery provisions and been consulted by the government in relation to the reform of the resource management system.
Hill is a designated external officer for protected disclosures under whistleblowing legislation for a local authority and investigates code of conduct complaints for a number of different public authorities.
As a faculty member of the New Zealand Law Society’s Litigation Skills Programme for the past six years, Hill remains instrumental in training New Zealand’s next generation of litigators.
PO Box 143, Tauranga 3144
07 927 0590
mhill@clmlaw.co.nz
linkedin.com/in/mary-hill-4b8ab19b
cooneyleesmorgan.co.nz
Mary Hill
Partner
Cooney Lees Morgan
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Milestones
“To be able to give back to the community is rewarding and fulfilling. I am honoured to be in a position where I can raise funds for those less fortunate and in need”
Ken Dixon,
Dixon Insurance Services
2000–2004
2004–2006
2006–2017
2019–2021
Present
Solicitor at Minter Ellison Rudd Watts
2000–
2004
Solicitor at Cooney Lees Morgan
2004–
2006
Associate at Cooney Lees Morgan
2006–
2017
President of the Resource Management Law Association
2019–
2021
Partner at Cooney Lees Morgan since 2017
Faculty Member at NZLS Litigation Skills Programme since 2018
Mentoring Programme Board Member at The College of Law New Zealand since 2021
Present
Assistant Vice President and Senior Broker at MJ Hall & Company since 2018
Present
Milestones
Aug 2022
Milestones
Sept 2021
Feb 2022
Apr 2022
Jul 2022
Aug
2022
Suncorp Bank introduces Solar Home Bonus offer for customers who are choosing renewable energy for their homes
Sept 2021
Month-on-month market share growth commences
Feb 2022
Suncorp Bank wins the Canstar award for most outstanding value in investment loans
Apr 2022
Suncorp Bank wins Money Magazine’s Bank of the Year and Business Bank of the Year awards for the fifth year in a row
Jul 2022
Suncorp Bank’s turnaround times are the lowest they have ever been. The lender becomes Australia’s first certified carbon neutral bank for both its operation and transaction services
Aug 2022
Milestones
How does he distinguish himself among fellow brokers?
“I believe all brokers are working very hard in a difficult market,” he says. “However, I have demonstrated continued growth, advocacy and performance on my client’s behalf, which is now recognised [for 10 consecutive years] in the Elite Broker awards.”
In 1990, Dixon got started with FAI, working in claims and as a team leader. From the late 1990s up until 2003, he worked at FAI and Suncorp in underwriting and as an area manager at VACC, CGU (South East Queensland). From 2003 to 2012, he got into broking and eventually started Dixon Insurance in 2013. Since then, he’s accumulated numerous acccolades, including Elite Broker, Diversity and Equity, and Fast Broker awards.
During the pandemic, Dixon challenged insurers over the Quarantine Act application to insurance wordings. His argument was that the Quarantine Act does not apply as an exclusion, as the Biosecurity Act was invoked by the Morrison Government, and this was not a subsequent amendment to the Quarantine Act. The test case in the Appeals court was won for Dixon’s client with a unanimous five-judge verdict.
He remains focused on transport, manufacturing, motor trade, engineering and large farm clients.
What are his plans for the future?
On a business level, “more of the same. I will continue to empower and encourage my staff to perform at their best as I have done for the last decade. I will continue to advocate for my clients, embracing new technology and being open to business and industry changes.”
On a personal level, Dixon invests significant time, effort and funds, along with his GT3, to support many charities through his passion for motorsport. From participating in and sponsoring the Thunderbolt Run (which provides tens of thousands of dollars in support for Beyond Blue and Prostate Cancer), to organising and running the Track Knights for Amira charity night where 28 Exotic Supercars raised funds through passenger laps in wet conditions, Dixon states “this is our time to give back to the community and those in need. My friendships and association with those seeking to do the same, allows us to contribute to those less fortunate and raise funds and awareness”.
He adds: “To be able to give back to the community is rewarding and fulfilling. I am honoured to be in a position where I can raise funds for those less fortunate and in need.”