Our People

Richard has been a partner at Sharp Tudhope since 2013.  He began his career in the construction industry whilst completing his law degree.  He has been practicing Building and Construction law since his admission to the bar in 2001. He gained extensive experience in both New Zealand and the UK before returning home and settling in Tauranga. 

Today he specialises in all areas of Building and Construction law as well as general civil and commercial dispute resolution. He understands the challenges facing the construction industry so is well equipped to act on behalf of building contractors, councils, professionals, developers and property owners. He advises on construction contracts and the tendering and letting of construction projects. He also routinely acts for parties in construction disputes.

“Being an effective construction lawyer means understanding the law, the project and the people.  I thoroughly enjoy all three aspects.  Increasingly my work is done with my clients’ project teams making sure they get the right contract terms or communications in place, helping with their negotiations. You have to judge when it is best to be visible – sometimes a client can get better positioning and/or avoid upsetting commercial relationships by not being obvious about having lawyers involved.  Other times you absolutely want the other side to know.”

Areas of Expertise

Building and construction
Tendering and Procurement
Probity auditor / Advisor
NZS 3910 / 3916 / 3917
Masterbuilders SA2017 Subcontract
Variations, Extensions of Time, Suspension of Works
Construction Contracts Act 2002 Payment Disputes
Professional Negligence claims involving building professionals

Memberships

Civil Contractors New Zealand Bay of Plenty Branch (past regional Chair)
Bay of Plenty Clay Target Association
Construction Clients Group
Bay of Plenty Clay Target Club