Bevan Marten, Partner
Bevan Marten is a litigation and dispute resolution specialist, with strengths in maritime, public and regulatory, property, and commercial law. Admitted to the bar in 2006, he has represented clients at every level of the New Zealand court system, as well as at mediation and arbitration.
Bevan returned to Izard Weston as a Partner in April 2018, having spent six years lecturing at Victoria University of Wellington’s School of Law in torts, property, maritime, insurance, and advanced private law. He previously worked for the firm as a solicitor before travelling to Cambridge, UK and Hamburg, Germany for postgraduate studies.
Maritime Law
Bevan undertakes work connected with all aspects of maritime law, including law of the sea issues, shipping contracts, ocean resources/offshore matters, and fisheries. He is an active member of the Maritime Law Association of Australia and New Zealand, and through his academic research has developed close ties with maritime experts across Europe, Asia, the Americas, and Australasia.
His recent maritime work includes litigation around fisheries regulations, marine pilotage issues, admiralty claims, professional liability issues, and aquaculture contracts. Advisory work has included commercial contracts, law reform projects in the Pacific Islands, as well as regulatory and trade issues affecting operators across New Zealand’s maritime sector.
Bevan is the author of a wide range of articles in the maritime law field, as well as the books Maritime Law in New Zealand (Thomson Reuters, 2016) and Port State Regulation and the Regulation of International Merchant Shipping (Springer, 2014), a full list of his publications can be found on the VUW website.
Public and Regulatory Law
Bevan’s work frequently involves advising government actors and other entities with statutory powers and responsibilities, such as professional disciplinary bodies and industry regulators. This has also included regulatory prosecutions under the Maritime Transport Act and Resource Management Act. On other occasions Bevan helps his clients to interact with government, or if necessary challenge government action, for example through judicial review proceedings.
Property and Commercial Law
Bevan advises Izard Weston’s clients on a wide range of commercial and property disputes, including disputes over leases, trusts, wills, easements and other land interests, sales of goods, insurance contracts, and contracts for professional services.
A proficient Te Reo Māori speaker, Bevan has a particular interest in legal issues affecting post-settlement governance bodies, as well as private actors that need to negotiate the complexities of property and resource issues affecting Māori interests.
Areas of Expertise:
- Litigation and Dispute Resolution
- Maritime Law
- Property Law (Disputes)
- Commercial Law (Disputes)
- Insurance Law
- Public and Regulatory Law
Background:
- BA (Māori Studies), Victoria University of Wellington, 2004
- LLB(Hons), Victoria University of Wellington, 2006
- Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand, 2006
- LLM, University of Cambridge, 2009
- Dr Jur, University of Hamburg / Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law, 2013
