Kirsty Dobbs

​Kirsty has extensive litigation experience with particular expertise in oil and gas, contract and construction disputes, as well as judicial reviews.

​​​​Kirsty's expertise spans a broad range of areas and industry sectors: contract, tort, oil and gas, construction, public and administrative law, competition law, intellectual property (including breach of confidence), defamation, consumer law, insolvency and debt recovery.

Clients value Kirsty for her diligence, reliability, practical advice and ability to effectively manage disputes. Her research skills drive informed advice, which is always delivered with a commercial and strategic focus.

Kirsty has been involved in significant commercial disputes and public law matters in recent years. She has ​​also acted for Anadarko in the judicial review proceedings brought by Greenpeace.

Kirsty has been ranked as a 'Next Generation Partner' for dispute resolution in The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2022.

Kirsty has a keen interest in the interface between law and science, particularly as it relates to intellectual property. Kirsty has assisted a client to develop a patent strategy for their business and has provided advice for clients on actual and anticipated patent litigation (both infringement and revocation proceedings). She has also provided advice on the complex issue of contributory infringement of Swiss claims. Prior to joining Bell Gully, Kirsty participated in the NZ Law Foundation funded University of Otago Human Genome Project and is a contributing author to the Project's report, Genes, Society and the Future.

In 2012, Kirsty was the recipient of the prestigious UK Pegasus Scholarship which gave her a unique insight into strategies for resolving complex, and often multi jurisdictional, litigation.