David is an Auckland barrister specialising in commercial litigation. He has particular expertise in insurance, corporate and insolvency law, as well as property, contract and class actions. 

David has 30 years’ experience spanning all aspects of commercial disputes and advice.

He takes a strategic approach to litigation.

In some cases, that means taking a case to trial. David is an experienced trial lawyer, acting as senior counsel in trials in the High Court and other jurisdictions. He also takes appeals, and has argued cases in the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court.

Other cases call for settlement. David has extensive experience at mediation and in direct settlement negotiations.


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Before joining the bar, David was a partner at Bell Gully for 11 years, where he was head of the litigation department. He has been ranked by the leading legal directories since 2016: 

• Chambers Asia-Pacific says that David is “respected as an ‘excellent lawyer’ by market sources” with “extensive litigation experience”.
• The Legal 500 says that David is a “standout” practitioner who is “lauded by clients for his depth of enquiry and understanding and strong courtroom advocacy”.
• Benchmark Litigation named him New Zealand Litigation Lawyer of the Year in 2020–21.

David writes and speaks extensively on commercial law and litigation, and regularly publishes legal updates on LinkedIn.

You can find out more about David and his practice at davidfriar.co.nz.