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Liam Johannesson

He/himSenior Associate
Auckland
About

Liam Johannesson advises on construction, infrastructure and commercial contracting matters for clients delivering major commercial projects across a range of sectors, including consumer goods, food and retail, infrastructure, construction and transport.

Having acted for large domestic and multinational organisations across both the public and private sectors, Liam brings broad experience and perspective across the full lifecycle of commercial projects. With a collaborative approach and strong focus on clients’ commercial objectives, Liam has supported a range of organisations to deliver projects and commercial transactions.

Liam has advised on projects in his key sectors with a combined value of more than NZD500 million over the past three years.

He guides and supports clients through key legal, market and sector developments, including the rollout of the new NZS suite of construction contracts and issues arising from fuel supply disruption.

Areas of FocusCommercial ContractsInfrastructure, Construction and TransportCorporateGovernment ContractingTransportConsumer Goods, Food and Retail
Professional QualificationsBarrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand, 2018

EXPERIENCE

  • Advising on procurement and construction matters for multiple distribution centre developments by Foodstuffs North Island, New Zealand's largest grocery retailer. This includes the ongoing construction of a new 28,000sqm controlled temperature distribution facility at Auckland International Airport's business park The Landing, which is a large-scale project designed to support long-term growth and help Foodstuffs manage increasing product volumes and store demand.
  • Advising Auckland Council, the largest local government in Oceania, on matters relating to its billion-dollar citywide facilities maintenance programme. This includes large variations to the scopes of services, related works, time-critical advice on operational issues during the COVID-19 lockdowns, and the ongoing impact from Auckland's severe weather events.
  • Advising Maersk, one of the largest container shipping companies in the world, on the construction of its cool store facility at Tainui Group’s Ruakura Superhub, a major logistics development in New Zealand.
  • Advising Tāmaki Regeneration on the preparation and negotiation of a bespoke performance-based maintenance contract, supporting the provision of up to 10 years' maintenance and special programme services to a portfolio of over 2,800 social housing properties.
  • Advising Foodstuffs North Island on all stages of its construction, refurbishment and upgrade projects across its multi-banner supermarket portfolio, including the construction of its new flagship NZD100 million PAK'nSAVE store at Highland Park.
  • Advising Auckland Council on its co-hosting of the FIFA Women's Football World Cup 2023. This included construction and development funding contracts for clubroom and training site capital upgrades and works.
  • Advising multinational organisations across different sectors on fit-out construction projects across New Zealand, including bespoke framework works contracts for international luxury and athletic apparel retailers expanding their New Zealand footprint.
Languages
  • English
Education
  • University of Auckland, LLB (Hons), 2018
  • University of Auckland, BA (History), 2018

Memberships And Affiliations

  • New Zealand Law Society
  • Infrastructure New Zealand

My latest insights

Publication
Workers installing solar panels_PPT

Managing fuel-driven cost and delay risk under NZS construction contracts

23 April 2026

Publication

Who pays when buildings fail? Proposed liability changes and new homeowner protections

4 February 2026

Publication

Security of payments and adjudication in New Zealand

20 March 2025 .7 minute read

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Connect

Phone

+64 9 300 3816
(Work, Auckland)
+64 21 473 625
(Work)