Nathan Speir

Nathan Speir is co-leader of Meredith Connell's Local Government team.  For more than a decade, he has advised local authorities across New Zealand on complex civil disputes, regulatory enforcement, public law issues and crisis response arising from significant weather events.

Nathan has extensive experience working alongside in-house legal teams at local authorities of varying scale and complexity, and understands the pace, priorities and integrated working models required to support councils effectively.  

His recent work spans a broad range of matters, including as lead adviser on the legal response to the January 2026 Mauao landslide for Tauranga City Council (TCC).  In this role he is supporting TCC across independent reviews, regulatory and coronial processes.

He advises many councils on post weather-event legal issues, including in relation to building consenting and land management. Nathan also acts in numerous high-profile building defect and construction disputes for councils across New Zealand, including large multi-unit claims and associated regulatory and disciplinary processes, and regularly advises local authorities on enforcement and regulatory matters across a variety of settings.