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A boutique Auckland law firm has made so much money from leaky homes litigation that it is believed to have rewarded its staff with an extra special Christmas party - in tropical Fiji.
Grimshaw & Co, which has represented more than 5000 unhappy buyers of damp homes, said earlier this year that it was not riding a gravy train, and that its fees were "reasonable and justifiable".
Yesterday, Grimshaw staff said they had been told not to say anything about the trip, though friends and Facebook profiles indicated they had spent several days there at the end of last month.
It comes after the Herald on Sunday last week revealed the lavish $40,000 Christmas party BNZ had thrown for its executives, only days after warning of thousands of New Zealand job losses in the economic downturn.
And this weekend, Hanover Finance owner Mark Hotchin apologised for the "appalling timing" of his 50th birthday bash at Fiji's Vomo Island Resort, coinciding with the troubled company's plea to its out-of-pocket investors to support a rescue package.
Tim Rainey, a partner at Grimshaw, refused to confirm or deny that the company had shouted its two dozen staff a beach junket to Fiji.
"It's a matter between us and our staff. As with many privately owned businesses, attracting and retaining great staff is crucial to our business.
"As a result, we have always been as generous as possible at Christmas time in recognition of the hard work they do for our clients over the course of the year."
Auckland City Council finance and strategy committee chairman Doug Armstrong, who had been told of the trip, said there was no doubt that law firms like Grimshaw had thrived during the leaky building debacle.
