About Me
About Me
With over 25 years of legal experience across both the private and public sectors, I commenced my career at top tier law firms, specialising in banking and project finance – first at Chapman Tripp in Wellington, and then at Allen & Overy in Hong Kong.
I later moved in-house as Senior Legal Counsel at Telecom New Zealand, the largest listed company in New Zealand at the time. More recently, I have held senior leadership roles in the public sector, including Deputy General Counsel (Regulation Branch) at the Commerce Commission, and General Counsel and Acting Registrar at the University of Otago.
I established Mayhaka Mendis Law to have greater control over the types of work I take on, so that I can focus on the areas of particular interest and deliver tailored, pragmatic legal solutions.
Based in Arrowtown and Queenstown, I provide services remotely throughout New Zealand, and I am happy to work from client’s premises within the Queenstown region if required.
Credentials
1995 LLB (Hons) (First Class), University of Kent at Canterbury, UK
1996 LLM (Hons), Victoria University of Wellington
1997 Admitted as a Solicitor and Barrister, Wellington
2024 New Zealand Law Society approval to practise on own account
2025 Certified Artificial Intelligence Governance Professional (IAPP AIGP)
2025 Institute of Directors Not-for-Profit Governance Essentials Course
Professional Experience
May 2024 to present Mayhaka Mendis Law – Owner / Principal
In-house legal contractual services, specialising in Privacy Law, AI Governance and the Tertiary Education Sector
November 2023 to May 2024 Highlander Trusts Limited - In-house Legal Counsel
Legal and general commercial work for family investment company
September 2020 to October 2023 University of Otago /Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka, Dunedin
Acting Registrar, General Counsel, and University Privacy Officer (April 2022 to October 2023)
Manager, Policy and Compliance and Deputy Privacy Officer (September 2020 to April 2022)
Managing and attending to all activities of the Office of the Registrar
Providing strategic, legal and policy advice to staff on various matters, including student complaints, statutory compliance and good governance
Managing the University’s privacy settings, including assessing potential privacy risk, advising on all information requests and privacy breach processes, running staff training sessions and promoting best practice
Chairing the Policy Management Group and advising on the interpretation and review of University statutes, policies and procedures
Overseeing the response to all Official Information Act requests received by the University, including recruiting and training the Official Information and Compliance Coordinator
Running the student appeals process including liaising with the Chair of the Appeals Board and drafting decisions for the Board
August 2017 to January 2020 Commerce Commission, Regulation Branch, Wellington
Deputy General Counsel (January 2019 to January 2020)
Senior Legal Counsel (August 2017 to December 2018)
Providing high quality legal advice and services to project teams across the Energy, Airports and Telecommunications Portfolios
2006-2017 Highlander Trusts Ltd - In-house Legal Counsel
Legal and general commercial work for family investment company
2002 to 2005 Telecom New Zealand Ltd, Wellington - Senior Corporate Counsel – Finance
Providing legal advice and assistance to the Finance team, the CFO and his direct reports
2001 to 2002 Allen & Overy, Hong Kong – Solicitor
Banking and finance, working almost exclusively on project finance transactions in China
1997 to 2001 Chapman Tripp, Wellington - Solicitor
Banking and finance and general corporate fields
Governance
June 2021 to Present Elected member of the New Zealand Law Society’s Otago Branch Council, currently the Queenstown Representative
Refer - https://www.lawsociety.org.nz/assets/About-Us-Documents/Annual-Reports/Recent-Annual-Reports/Annual_Report_2025-WEB_Main-10-12-2025.pdf#page=33 (pages 33-34)
2023 to 2024 Member of the Book of Order Advisory Committee of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand
Professional Memberships
Legal
New Zealand Law Society
ILANZ (In-house Lawyers Association)
Privacy
International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP)
New Zealand Privacy Foundation
Southern Privacy Network
Governance
Institute of Directors – Member
Business
Queenstown Chamber of Commerce
Mountain Club (Queenstown)