Paul Heath KC

⚒️ What do you do?

I am presently based at Bankside Chambers in Auckland and in Singapore. Bankside is a barristers’ chambers, of which a number of arbitrators and mediators are members. A group of us set up a room in Singapore at Maxwell Chambers, using the “Bankside” brand and we have two resident lawyers who will have foreign legal practices operating from there. I am currently undertaking arbitral appointments from both SIAC and HKIAC.

I started as a litigation lawyer in a firm of barristers and solicitors in New Zealand in 1980, appointed as a Queen’s Counsel in 1998, doing primarily commercial and insolvency litigation.

🏆 What is your proudest achievement?
The proudest part of my litigation experience was appearing on three occasions in the Privy Council, then New Zealand’s apex court. I was also a member of the Law Commission, New Zealand’s law reform agency. I undertook important work on electronic commerce, insolvency and arbitration. 

I then became a High Court Judge for 16 years, sitting as an ad hoc Judge of the Court for about 13 of them. My proudest achievement in the High Court was to preside over a fraud trial, where the accused were charged with having deceived the Government into giving a Guarantee for investor deposits which ended up being called upon for $1.6 billion. Although taking some five months to hear, the trial concluded with no appeals, whether against conviction or sentence.

⌛ There are now 25 hours in a day! How do you spend your extra hour?
I would like to spend the extra hour with my wife and enjoy some family time. 

The demands of work at present mean that recreational time is limited.

🚀 If you weren't a lawyer, what would you do?
I do not really know what I would do if I was not a lawyer – or an arbitrator and mediator as I am now. As a youngster, I would have loved to have been a professional cricketer, but just did not have anything close to the necessary talent. Anyway, I am pleased with what I have achieved during my time as a lawyer.

😋 Your favourite food haunt
My favourite food haunt is still, at this stage, in New Zealand. 

My wife and I holiday in a small South Island town called Wanaka, which is nestled among mountains that contain (within one hour’s drive) four different ski fields. It is an Indian restaurant (Ashraf’s) run by husband and wife and working on a first come first served basis for three or four hours each evening. Wonderful food.