Polly Pope
What is your current role?
I’m a barrister and arbitrator at Bankside in Auckland and Singapore. I joined the independent bar a year ago after a decade as a partner at Russell McVeagh and before that, several years as a Senior Associate at Clifford Chance in London.
I now spend about 1/3 of my time arbitrating and adjudicating disputes, and 2/3 of my time as counsel. My counsel work currently includes cases in the High Court and Court of Appeal in New Zealand as well as construction arbitration.
Bankside Singapore is the first and only set of New Zealand barristers, arbitrators, and mediators committed to a permanent presence in Singapore. Through my presence in Singapore, I work with clients in Asia on disputes in New Zealand, and vice versa. I also accept appointments in international commercial arbitrations.
What is your proudest achievement?
I'm proud of building a commercial litigation practice at Russell McVeagh, and the term I spent as Chair of the Partnership. Over my time as a partner, I learnt so much about who I am as a lawyer and what matters to me in legal practice. I'm also very proud of taking the leap to step out of partnership and into independent practice.
In terms of cases, there is one arbitration that always stands out for me. It was a maritime construction dispute. We obtained a tremendous result for our client and had a lot of fun as a team on the way there. I will never forget spending several days cross-examining witnesses while eight months pregnant. It wasn't the biggest case I've worked on but it was the most fun.
If you had 25 hours in a day, what would you do with the extra hour?
I love to walk my dog on Auckland's waterfront but with an extra hour I could walk every day on the black sand of Piha Beach on Auckland's wild west coast. My family are all proud members of the Piha Surf Lifesaving Club, and we head out there every Sunday morning in the summers.
If you weren't a lawyer, what would you be?
I always assumed I would be a journalist. My grandfather was a foreign correspondent for the Chicago Tribune from the 1930s to 1950s. I never met him but grew up with stories of his life reporting from cities across Asia.
Your favourite food haunt is...?
In Singapore, I love Tamba for a special meal and Kafe Utu for brunch.
In Auckland, I can’t go past Amano. On the last day in the office before the first 2020 lockdown I had both breakfast and dinner there.