Russell McVeagh has been enlisted by a district council on the South Island of New Zealand as it prepares for a large-scale lignite (coal) development in the region.

Gore District Council, with a population of about 12,000, will utilise the services of the firm, which usually acts for developers, corporations and financial institutions, to ensure the  district's interests are upheld as Solid Energy begins work on its NZ$15m briquetting plant.

The council is on the verge of one of the largest industrial developments in New Zealand as the state-owned coalminer starts rolling out multi-million dollar projects to transform Eastern Southland lignite into high value products such as fertiliser and diesel.

Gore is the only local authority Russell McVeagh has acted for to date, according to Gore District Council chief executive Steve Parry. Parry told The Southland Times, that to have a law firm that routinely acts for developers and was so "commercially savvy" was hugely beneficial to the council. Parry said the council would be subject to high-level scrutiny from around the country as Solid Energy's projects progressed; therefore it needed to ensure it had the best possible advice.

The council is likely to look to Solid Energy to assist with legal fees, Gore District mayor, Tracy Hicks added.

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