I was admitted as Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of NZ in 1995 and am a current holder of a NZ Law Society Practicing Certificate. I’m a member of the Resource Management Law Association and associate member of the New Zealand Planning Institute.

I’ve been recognised as a leading lawyer (energy and natural resources) by Chambers Global, and have advised private and public clients on the resource management and public law aspects of land transport, infrastructure, property developments, subdivisions, retail resource management, energy, waste management, and environmental due diligence investigations. I’ve appeared before local authorities, the Environment Court, Land Valuation Tribunal, Maori Land Court, High Court and Supreme Court on various resource management, public and private law issues.

My recent experience has included advising and representing:

• A number of large companies on climate change legislation and the proposed emissions trading scheme;
• The New Zealand Transport Agency on consenting and strategy advice for a number of major roading projects including the Tauranga Eastern Link, Waikato Expressway and Northern Gateway projects;
• Vector Gas on the consenting of high pressure pipeline projects in the North Island of New Zealand;
• New Zealand Steel on the consenting of a modern engineered waste facility at Glenbrook.

In 1999, I completed a Masters of Environmental Law at Auckland University with First Class Honours. My final research dissertation focused on the use of techniques of economic analysis under the Resource Management Act. I’ve also written papers on mediation under the RMA (Resolving Conflict by Consensus (1997) 1 NZJEL 201), heritage protection in Auckland City, geothermal resource use, and ethical aspects of international environmental law. In 2001 I lectured part-time in Environmental Law at AUT.

In 2001, with the Grey Lynn Neighbourhood Law Office, I played a major role in establishing Auckland’s first community-based resource management advice service.

I’m a contributing author of chapters on Environmental Assessment, Landscape and Native Plants in leading environmental law text Environmental and Resource Management Law in New Zealand, 5th Ed; and was Editor, Lexis Nexis Resource Management Bulletin 2004-2005.

Publications and Conference Papers

V Rive, Resolving Conflict by Consensus: Environmental Mediation under the Resource Management Act 1991 (1997) 1 NZJEL 201
V Rive, Energy Projects under the Kyoto Regime: Key Legal Issues for New Ventures at Energy Federation of NZ Climate Change Projects Conference, Wellington, 2003
V Rive, Land Transport Management Act 2003 – One Year On – Legal and Practical Perspectives at Towards Sustainable Land Transport Conference, Wellington, 2004
V Rive, Climate Change in the Courts – Overseas Developments at Lexis Nexis Environmental Law and Climate Change Conference, Wellington, April 2008
V Rive and E Steane, A Quiet Simmer – Increasing Role for Climate Change in Planning and Development in New Zealand at Conferenz Climate Change and the Law Conference, Wellington, September 2008
V Rive, Auckland Governance at Fast Tracking National Infrastructure Summit, Wellington, April 2009
V Rive and L Hinchey, Auckland Local Governance Reforms: Legal Perspectives at New Zealand Planning Institute Seminar, Auckland, 12 August 2009