Sarah Kuper

Sarah specialises in public law and commercial litigation and alternative dispute resolution.

Sarah has broad experience before domestic courts, international tribunals, and commissions of inquiry. She has acted in a wide range of domestic and international commercial and public law disputes including interim injunctions, judicial reviews, government inquiries, human rights proceedings and multi-jurisdictional commercial disputes.

She advises a wide range of clients in the public and private sectors with particular expertise in contentious disputes, administrative decision-making, regulatory and statutory compliance and human rights.  

Sarah began her career as a judges’ clerk at the High Court of New Zealand and prior to joining Chapman Tripp, gained experience working in a leading London civil litigation firm and other New Zealand law firms. She also spent time working at the New Zealand Permanent Mission to the United Nations during New Zealand's tenure as an elected member of the Security Council.

Recent highlights

• Advised and acted for various government departments, Crown entities and State-owned enterprises in relation to their decision-making, statutory obligations, policy processes and interactions with responsible Ministers.
• Acted on a range of contentious commercial disputes before arbitral bodies and domestic courts, including for a high net worth individual in an LCIA Arbitration in respect of claims brought in relation to a breach of a shareholder and escrow agreement and an Italian Pension Fund in High Court proceedings against an English bank for breach of fiduciary duty, deceit, and dishonest assistance.
• Advised clients on Royal Commissions and government inquiries including in relation to the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care and the Government Inquiry into the Whey Protein Concentrate Contamination Incident.
• Advised clients on the application and lawfulness of COVID-19 law changes and other regulatory and statutory reform including representing an individual challenging the government’s blanket ban on compassionate release from managed isolation.
• Acted for companies, pension funds and high net worth individuals in multi-jurisdictional civil fraud disputes, including successfully defending a claim against private equity interests for over €1b brought by the liquidators of a Greek Telecommunications company under s423 of the Insolvency Act 1986 in the High Court of England and Wales.
• Advised charities, businesses and individuals on their rights and obligations under domestic and international human rights law.