About Geoff Clews

Geoff Clews is one of the few New Zealand lawyers who specialize in acting for clients facing serious tax problems, both civil and criminal. He has done so for more than 40 years. Geoff’s practice covers all aspects of tax controversy. He advises clients in the course of Inland Revenue investigations. He conducts the formal aspects of the statutory tax disputes process. He litigates tax and related issues, and defends criminal tax charges, before the Courts at trial and appellate levels. In all these matters Geoff applies focused analysis of his client’s situation, an honest judgment of their position, strategic thinking and compelling advocacy.

Until 1998 Geoff was a senior tax partner with Russell McVeagh. In 1999 he left his firm to practice as a specialist barrister. Over the more than two decades since, he has been consistently rated as an outstanding practitioner in disputed tax matters by commentartors such as Chambers and Partners (Global and Asia Pacific), Best Lawyers, the International Tax Review, Finance Monthly and others. Excerpts from his more recent independent professional reviews include:

Geoffrey Clews of Old South British Chambers is active across a comprehensive range of advisory and representational mandates in the taxation sphere, being particularly well known for his work on behalf of clients facing especially serious tax-related issues in both the civil and criminal spheres. He is described as "extremely competent" by one source and as "a distinguished lawyer with a broad practice" by another. Chambers Asia Pacific. New Zealand, the Tax bar, 2022, 2023, 2024; Chambers Global,2025.

Geoff is a member and past chairman of the New Zealand Law Society’s Tax Committee. He is a longstanding member of the International Fiscal Association (IFA) and of the International Bar Association (IBA) for which he has acted as national tax reporter. He has also acted as national reporter to the Foreign Lawyer’s Forum of the American Bar Association Tax Section.

Geoff’s practice also includes representation in trust disputes. His experience in trusts includes superannuation (pension) law and a special interest in the tax treatment of foreign trusts and trustees and of trusts for non-residents of New Zealand or persons immigrating to this country. For a time he chaired the board of the Bank of Bermuda’s New Zealand trust operation. 

Geoff has advocated the voluntary adoption in New Zealand of higher practice standards by investment fiduciaries and professionals and developed the original case law commentary for the work in this country of the Centre for Fiduciary Studies, then associated with the University of Pittsburgh. In 2005 he qualified as an Accredited Investment Fiduciary^TM under the auspices of the Centre.

His work in advising on standards for investment professionals was cited by the Minister of Commerce when Geoff was appointed in August 2011 to be a member of the Financial Advisers Disciplinary Committee on which he sat in a quasi judicial role until 2019.  Continuing his commitment to the improvement of financial standards, and reflecting his experience on the FADC, he developed the procedure rules for and now chairs the Financial Services Council's Code of Conduct Disciplinary Committee. 

Geoff is a member of the New Zealand Institute of Directors.
 

Outside the law Geoff’s community interests centre on the arts. Since the 1990s he had led teams that established three performing arts facilities Auckland: the Rose Centre community theatre in Belmont, the Bruce Mason Centre in Takapuna and Q Theatre in Auckland's Queen Street. He received two civic awards for this work. 

Largely because of his work in arts governance Geoff was appointed by Auckland Council as a director of Regional Facilities Auckland, then the commercial arm of the Council responsible for the major publicly owned arts, sports, heritage, collections and convention venues in the Auckland region.  

In addition to these activities Geoff is an enthusiastic theatre and opera supporter. Since 2004 he has sponsored the annual drama award of the Northern Area Performance Theatre Awards (NAPTA’s) and in 2013 became the Patron of that organisation. With his appointment he inaugurated an annual patron's award of scholarships for advanced training in performance or technical aspects of theatre. 

Geoff chairs the Sir George Elliot Charitable Trust and has been a trustee since 1987.  This substantial foundation annually awards Sir George Elliot Tertiary Scholarships. Elliot Scholars are future leaders who have shown their potential by havig overcome serious adverse life circumstances to achieve academically and be leaders in their school and local communities. The Elliott Scholarship is now recognised as one of the most generous and prestigious in New Zealand. There are some 80 Elliot alumni and the Trust has established the Sir George Elliot Fellowship to recognise the ongoing contribution of scholars in their fields of endeavour and to their communities.

In August 2011 Geoff joined the Board of Trustees of the Auckland Foundation, which promotes private and commercial philanthropy under the community foundation model that has had great success in the US and Australia.  Under his leadership the Foundation trebled in size and the value of registered bequests grew to more than $27 million. Though no longer a trustee Geoff remains an ambassador for the Foundation's work.

Having drafted much of its originating deed, for five years Geoff chaired the advisory panel for Te Kiwi Maia, The Courageous Kiwi's Trust, established to aid and assist members of the defence forces and first response organisations who suffer physical, mental or emotional harm as a result of their work. 

In addition to his community appointments, Geoff regularly undertakes pro bono work for community organisations. Find out more about this work.

In the 2023 New Year's Royal Honours list, Geoff Clews was awarded the Queen's Service Medal for services to the arts and the community.

Geoff has contributed New Zealand commentary to five international legal texts. He is the inaugural author of the New Zealand Chapter of International Taxation of Low-Tax Transactions, BNA International Inc 1999, and of the New Zealand contribution to International Stock Plans: The Practitioner’s Guide to Exporting Employee Equity, Louis Rorimer, Bowne & Co Inc 1999, 2000. He wrote the New Zealand Commentary for the 2000 Edition of Brookes Notary and contributed the New Zealand update for the 2014 and 2021 editions.

Geoff has for severla years contributed the New Zealand commentary to what are now the Lexology In Depth publication on tax disputes and litigation and the Chambers & Partners Tax Controversy Global Practice Guide.

Geoff is a regular speaker at tax and trust related conferences and seminars, both in New Zealand and overseas, and a number of his papers are published on this site.

Qualifications and Teaching

Geoff is a graduate of Auckland University (LLB (Hons) 1979, M Jur (Distn) 1982) and was admitted to the New Zealand Bar in February 1980. He also holds permanent admission to the Cook Islands High Court, where he specialises in disputed tax matters and international trust and company litigation. He argued as taxpayers' counsel the first case to test the scope and application of the Cook Islands' Tax Information Exchange Agreements and successfully argued against the Cook Island Government's income source rules applicable to international aircraft operators.

Geoff was appointed a Notary public in 1991 and is a Fellow of the Australian and New Zealand College of Notaries.  

Geoff is an Adjunct Teaching Fellow in the Univeristy of Auckland Law School's Master of Taxation Studies programme, for which he has taught courses on the law and procedure of tax disputes, and the law relating to tax avoidance. 

LinkedIn

To view Geoff Clews' LinkedIn profile, click here.

The Chambers Team

Geoff Clews is Head of Chambers at Old South British Chambers in Auckland. He is assisted in many instructions by his colleague in Chambers, barrister Sam Davies. For seven years Sam was employed in Geoff's practice but he now practices on his own account from the same Chambers. To read more about Sam, click here. 

Other members of chambers outside Geoff's team include Ross Knight and his associates. See more here. 

Rachel Langford is Executive Assistant to Geoff's team and Chambers Manager of Old South British Chambers. To read more about Rachel, click here.