Wellington public and commercial law firm Franks Ogilvie has gained Marcus Ganley as a Director of the firm, effective immediately.
Marcus joined the firm last year as Special Counsel. He has more than 25 years' experience across government, politics, business and law in New Zealand and Australia. He holds an LLB (First Class Honours) from Victoria University of Wellington and an MA (First Class Honours) in Political Studies from the University of Auckland.
Marcus’ appointment highlights the professionalism the firm applies to public law. Franks Ogilvie draws on intellectual objectivity and power from genuine political diversity as well as legal discipline. None of us can achieve groupthink with each other, no matter hard we try.
Marcus joins Stephen Franks, Rob Ogilvie and Brigitte Morten on Franks Ogilvie's board of directors. The four principals bring well known and widely different career experiences to the service of firm clients.
Marcus spent over a decade in the New Zealand Parliament, including as a senior adviser to ministers in the Labour-led government of Prime Minister Helen Clark, before holding senior roles in Australian state and federal politics. That sets him apart within a firm whose founding directors are more commonly associated with the political centre-right, including Stephen Franks, a former ACT MP. Franks Ogilvie now has a genuinely cross-partisan bench of directors and gives clients insight across the political spectrum.
Marcus advises clients on public law matters at the intersection of regulatory, parliamentary and business environments, and is a regular media commentator on politics and public policy, including recent appearances on RNZ and in Newsroom on the regulation of AI in political campaigns.
“Marcus has an unmatched ability to explain how government actually works, from inside both a Labour government here and centre-left politics in Australia. It means our clients get advice that isn't coloured by a single political lens — they get the full picture,” said Managing Director Brigitte Morten.
“Clients dealing with government need to understand how decisions get made regardless of who's in power, and Marcus has sat inside that machinery on the other side of politics from where I ended up,” said Founding Director Stephen Franks.
“Franks Ogilvie has built a genuine niche advising clients on where law, regulation and politics collide. I'm looking forward to continuing that work as a director,” said Marcus Ganley.
Once engaged, our personal preferences are secondary. We help the clients get the best outcome they can. They know we must have had strong personal convictions. They know we won’t be timid. They know some of us will have more connections with some political factions than with others.
But they also know that we’ll be ruled by informed legal analysis and the client’s interests. That is why the firm has grown with clients across the political spectrum.
