Growing up....The end of the year is fast-approaching and this means we'll soon be celebrating another birthday. But before that, we need to move to bigger offices.

Our new address will be: Level 16, 45 Queen Street, Auckland.

It's an exciting time for us but tinged with a little sadness -  this is where we grew up. There's no better time to grab a few words from someone who was there from the beginning, Simon Martin, on the evolution of the firm and its future.

‍What was your mission back in 2007?

We set up the firm as we saw a need from clients in the market for specialist expertise for technology, media and IP work. With the GFC in full swing , 2007 was an interesting time to start a new business. But it also presented us with a fantastic opportunity as businesses were looking for creative solutions. The founding principles of remaining relevant to our clients and delivering top quality work remain as true today as they did back then.

What have been the highlights?

The fantastic and interesting work we have had the good fortune to be involved with since the start. This positively reflects how our clients believe and trust in our vision and in all that we do.The team - it's humbling the trust that they have placed in us. This is both the terrific people that have joined our team and the opportunity for us to be included as part of our clients' teams .Being relevant - our work in the area and our involvement in the community mean that we are in the position to share practical insights, knowledge and perspectives from and with the industry. We're privileged to open up the network as a connector and have a front row seat on seeing the positive impact this has for our clients and their industry.

What have been some of the challenges and what did you do to overcome them?

Firm size - it can be a blessing and curse. Starting out with 3 partners, 4 lawyers and 3 support staff meant that we had to be incredibly resourceful, nimble but most importantly open and honest with our clients. Despite our growth we still reflect these traits.Being successful can be a challenge though we don't downplay how incredibly lucky we are to work with iconic businesses from NZ and beyond. In our start up stage this proved challenging for me personally in keeping the balance of a growing business but also as a father to a young family away from the office. Again, it comes down to having honest and open discussions with the team and our clients.