Jason Mills

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Jason is an experienced trial lawyer with a broad practice that includes general, civil and commercial disputes; civil and criminal regulatory proceedings; fraud, money laundering, proceeds of crime and other criminal prosecutions and applications.

Areas of practice

Jason has appeared in over 150 trials in the District Court and the High Court, and has appeared on more than 80 appeals in the Court of Appeal.

Between 1992 and 2010 when he joined the Bar, Jason spent more than ten years in commercial litigation, initially at Simpson Grierson and then at Russell McVeagh. During this time, Jason worked on a number of large scale and complex commercial litigation cases, appearing in the High Court and Court of Appeal.

Between 2003 and 2007, Jason was a Crown prosecutor for Meredith Connell, and also spent a period on secondment to Crown law as Crown counsel. During this time, Jason appeared regularly in the courts, including appearing as sole or lead counsel in numerous judge-alone and jury trials in the District Court and the High Court, and numerous appeals in the Court of Appeal. He has continued to appear for the Crown in the Court of Appeal since going to the Bar in 2010.

Since coming to the Bar, Jason has been involved in a number of large scale, complex commercial litigation cases; numerous high profile fraud and regulatory prosecutions; and as defence counsel in several criminal trials and also in the Court of Appeal.

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY

2008-2010	Senior Solicitor Russell McVeagh
2003-2007	Associate Meredith Connell
2006	Crown Counsel: (Seconded to) Crown Law
2000-2002	Senior Solicitor Russell McVeagh
1996-1998	Senior Solicitor Russell McVeagh
1992-1994	Solicitor Simpson Grierson

Recent trials

NZ Iron Sands Holdings Ltd v Toward Industries and another (commercial – breach of contract)

R v De Marco (fraud)

R v MF (rape)

Trends Publishing International Limited v Callaghan Innovation (commercial – breach of contract)

R v XY (rape)

R v Ross and another (fraud)

State v Waqabaca and others (sedition)

R v SW (indecent assault)

Detection Services Limited and others v Pickering (commercial – breach of contract)

R v LW (Class A drugs charges)

R v MC (sexual violation)

R v AA (rape)

R v NS (rape)

R v O’Brien and others (Operation Chestnut – DIA/SFO Gaming Act prosecution)

Natural Waters of Viti Ltd v Yaqara Pastoral Company Ltd (commercial – breach of contract)

D4 Cash Investors Ltd v Advanced Creative Technologies Ltd (commercial – breach of contract)

Financial Markets Authority v Warminger (regulatory – market manipulation)

R v Sullivan and others (South Canterbury Finance)

Ma v Ta (commercial – breach of contract)

Robinson v Whangarei Head Ltd and another (damages for malicious prosecution)

Greymouth Holdings Ltd and others v Jet Trustees Ltd and others (commercial shareholder oppression)

R v HK (perverting the course of justice)

Fisher and Paykel Financial Services Ltd v Karum Group LLC (commercial – intellectual property)

R v Graham and others (Lombard Finance)

R v Moses and others (Nathans Finance)

R v Gui and others (Class A drugs charges)

News & Insights

What is the difference between aiding and abetting?

REGULATORY PROCEEDINGS & LITIGATION

So what is the difference between aiding and abetting? Aiding, as the names suggests, is helping. To abet means to urge on, instigate, or encourage. In any criminal case a defendant can either be charged as a principal or as a party to the offence.

Rae v Commissioner of Police [2023] NZSC 156

CASE SUMMARY

Does the Supreme Court have jurisdiction to hear an appeal from the Court of Appeal’s decision to decline to recall a judgment in a civil proceeding? The Supreme Court addressed this issue, among others, in an “unusual, combined leave-and-appeal hearing”.