Christina Sheard
Partner – Environment and Planning – Dentons

Christina is a Partner at Dentons in the Environment and Planning team. Christina is a leading resource management lawyer with more than 24 years’ experience advising on all aspects of the Resource Management Act and associated legislation.

Christina’s dual legal and planning qualifications (LLB, Master of Planning Practice) give her a unique ability to provide pragmatic legal advice on environmental and planning issues. She is highly valued by her clients for her strategic advice and ability to challenge the status quo to achieve outstanding outcomes for the projects she works on.

She regularly advises industrial, commercial, residential and government clients on all aspects of the RMA, efficiently guiding them through the consenting process from the early stages of the business case phase through to resolution of appeals and compliance during the construction process. With a well-earned reputation for delivering pragmatic legal advice that avoids a heavily caveated, risk adverse approach, Christina provides valuable strategic guidance to project teams.

Christina has recently been advising the NZ Infrastructure Commission on the development of the newly introduced Fast Track Approvals Bill. She also has experience as the Chair of Expert Consenting Panels convened under the COVID Fast Track Act.