Senior Associate

Sarah Holderness

LLB (Hons) / BSc
Profile
Sarah Holderness is a Senior Associate in the Disputes team.

Sarah has over 12 years’ experience in legal practice, and primarily specialises in front end construction work.  She has acted for a diverse range of project participants, sizes, and types of project.  Sarah is familiar with standard form agreements (such as NZS 3910 / 3916, SA-2017, CCCS etc), and regularly drafts either bespoke special conditions or entire contracts, as well as other project documents such as tender conditions, letters of intent, collateral warranties and continuity guarantees.  She also assists as required with contentious matters in the construction space, such as defective building claims, professional indemnity claims, and contract disputes including relating to delay and other issues on construction projects.

As well as her private practice experience, Sarah has also worked in-house for a multinational engineering firm, working almost exclusively on front end work.  Sarah was seconded for nine months in 2016, and then asked to return in 2018 to cover a period of leave; in this role Sarah has gained increased appreciation of business perspectives and drivers. 

Sarah is a member of the Society of Construction Law (New Zealand).

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Experience

Examples of work completed by Sarah include:

  • Redrafting and negotiating a construction contract for a large infrastructure project.
  • Reviewing and preparing contract tags for a joint venture bidding to join a panel for Council capital works.
  • Drafting a bespoke contract for a specialist cranage subcontractor.
  • Preparing special conditions for a developer principal embarking on an apartment development, including drafting bonds and bespoke warranties.
  • Defending a subcontractor in a proceeding involving a large apartment complex, multiple parties, and a variety of design and construction issues.
  • Assisting with the defence of a developer company and its director in a multi-party construction claim involving subsiding properties.
  • Assisting with defending professional indemnity claims.
  • Acting for a charitable trust board on an appeal from the Maori Appellate Court to the Court of Appeal concerning two related trusts of which the charitable trust board was a beneficiary.
Media
Publications

Insights & Opinion / Sarah Holderness

Construction Framework Wide BW
Public consultation on NZS 3916:2025 and NZS 3917:2025
Public consultation on the draft DZ 3916 Conditions of contract for building and civil engineering – Design and construct and DZ 3917 Conditions of contract for building and civil engineering – F...
13.02.2025 Posted in Construction
Construction Framework Wide BW
Construction insurance cover: Sky UK Ltd v Riverstone Managing Agency Ltd
Parties to a building contract usually take out insurance to protect the contract works from damage from unintended events such as vandalism or a flood.  The policy is intended to cover the cost of r...
23.01.2025 Posted in Construction & Insurance
James Hardie New Zealand Ltd v Zurich Australian Insurance Ltd: Rebuffing a stay of proceedings
In James Hardie New Zealand Ltd v Zurich Australian Insurance Ltd [2024] NZHC 3126, the High Court refused to grant a stay of proceedings under ss 22 and 25 of the Trans-Tasman Proceedings Act 2010 (A...
12.12.2024 Posted in Construction & Insurance
Construction theme black and white
Contractors take note – are any of your retentions clauses prohibited provisions?
In Stevensons Structural Engineers 1978 Ltd (in liq) v McMillan & Lockwood (PN) Ltd & Anor [2024] NZHC 2415, the High Court held that the timing for payment out of retentions in certain subcon...
05.09.2024 Posted in Construction
Complexities of contract termination – High Court calls halt on the Contractor’s process in Rau Paenga v CPB
The High Court in Rau Paenga Ltd v CPB Contractors Pty Ltd [2023] NZHC 2947 granted an interim injunction preventing the Contractor from suspending and terminating its contract for the construction of...
30.05.2024 Posted in Construction & Disputes
The Legal500 Construction Comparative Guide
The Construction team at Hesketh Henry is the exclusive New Zealand contributor to The Legal 500: Country Comparative Guide for Construction.  Partners Glen Holm-Hansen and Helen Macfarlane along wit...
21.05.2024 Posted in Construction
HH News NZS  Release
What You Need to Know About the New NZS3910:2023
The new NZS3910:2023 (conditions of contract for building and civil engineering construction) was released by Standards New Zealand in December 2023 (see our article here).  It is now gaining relevan...
10.04.2024 Posted in Construction
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