Global Law Experts is pleased to welcome Peter Montagna, Director and Principal of Blackwood Montagna, as an Exclusive Member for Business Law in New Zealand within the Global Law Experts network.

Blackwood Montagna is based in Pukekohe and acts for clients throughout Franklin and the wider Auckland region. Peter takes a commercially grounded approach to legal advice. He acts for business owners, directors, managers, property investors and individuals on the practical legal side of commercial life. His work covers business transactions, commercial contracts, and property-related matters. He aims to give advice that is practical and easy to understand.

Peter’s membership of the Global Law Experts network reflects his business law practice, his commitment to plain legal communication, and his experience helping New Zealand businesses with everyday commercial issues. Through Blackwood Montagna, he helps clients identify risks early, make informed decisions, and record their arrangements clearly so that all parties understand their rights and obligations.

Business Law in New Zealand

Peter advises on a range of business and commercial matters, including commercial contracts, personal guarantees, directors’ duties, business sales and purchases, commercial property transactions, and leasing and tenancy issues for business premises and rental properties.

This mix of advisory and transactional work means he can assist clients at different stages of a business’s life. That includes setting up commercial arrangements, expanding, restructuring, or changing ownership. Peter helps clients understand the legal implications while keeping their commercial priorities in view.

His practice focuses on practical outcomes. Business owners often need advice they can act on. Peter explains legal risk in terms that business principals can recognise, assess and use. He focuses on allocating responsibility clearly, protecting commercial value, and preparing documents that give the parties certainty.

Commercial contracts show this approach. A well-drafted agreement sets expectations, allocates risk, defines how performance is managed, and can reduce the risk of disputes. For many small and medium-sized businesses, contract terms can affect cash flow, supplier and customer relationships, and the personal exposure of owners and directors. Peter helps clients identify these issues early, before they become harder and more expensive to resolve.

Personal guarantees and directors’ duties are another key part of his practice. A personal guarantee can create significant personal liability for business principals, particularly if a company cannot meet its obligations. Peter has written plain-language commentary on the practical consequences of guarantees and why it matters to understand fully what is being signed. He helps business owners and directors understand how guarantees work, what risks they may carry, and how those risks can be dealt with in negotiations.

Directors must keep their legal duties in mind when they manage company affairs, approve transactions, and respond to financial or operational pressure. Peter advises directors and business owners who want to understand their responsibilities while pursuing their commercial goals.

Business sales and purchases need careful attention to structure, documentation, due diligence and risk allocation. Peter prepares and negotiates agreements for business sales and asset purchases. He helps clients define which assets and obligations are included, protect value, and set out clear terms for settlement and any ongoing obligations.

Commercial property is also a meaningful part of his practice. A business may lease its premises, own the land it operates from, or hold property as an investment. Leases, landlord and tenant relationships, and property transactions can all affect business continuity. Peter advises on these matters with an eye to how property decisions fit into a client’s longer-term business plans.

Professional Background and Leadership

Peter Montagna was admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand on 27 September 2013 and holds a current practising certificate. He is the sole director and majority shareholder of Blackwood Montagna Ltd, a company incorporated in 2018.

Peter leads Blackwood Montagna, a firm offering a range of legal services to clients across Franklin and greater Auckland. His background allows him to act for both businesses and individuals, particularly where commercial and property issues overlap. After a senior partner transition at the end of 2024, Peter took on primary leadership of the firm. Since then he has focused on building a collaborative team, developing the firm’s services, and maintaining continuity for long-standing clients.

Blackwood Montagna operates as a modern hybrid workplace. Where a matter falls outside the firm’s areas of practice, Peter can refer clients to, or work alongside, other appropriately qualified professionals. Peter’s leadership reflects a commitment to professional capability, responsive communication and direct engagement with clients.

Client-Focused Commercial Advice

Clients want advisers who understand the commercial context of their legal issues. Peter takes a solution-focused approach that links legal advice to each client’s goals.

For family-owned businesses and start-ups entering a growth phase, this may mean documenting relationships, clarifying responsibilities, or reviewing agreements made when the business was smaller. For established small and medium-sized companies, it may mean contract negotiations, support with a business acquisition, or advice on a personal guarantee. For property investors and commercial landlords, it may mean lease arrangements or property transactions.

In all of these matters, Peter uses plain language and commercially relevant analysis. Clients need to know what the law requires and also how an issue may affect timing, cost, risk and practicality. His advice is meant to help clients move forward with a clearer understanding of their legal position.

Published Legal Commentary

Peter writes for Blackwood Montagna’s legal commentary and client newsletters, giving practical guidance on issues that commonly affect business owners. His articles include explanations of personal guarantees and their consequences for business principals, and commentary on tenancy law reforms and property matters. These articles explain complex legal topics in a way that is useful to non-lawyers.

This kind of writing is particularly useful for businesses that do not have in-house lawyers. Clear written guidance can help owners and managers recognise potential risks, prepare the right questions, and get advice before entering into important arrangements.

Membership of Global Law Experts

Peter Montagna is an Exclusive Member of Global Law Experts for Business Law in New Zealand. His foundation for this role is his admission to the High Court of New Zealand, his current practising certificate, and his leadership of Blackwood Montagna.

His business law practice covers many of the issues that matter to commercial clients in New Zealand. These include contracts, guarantees, directors’ duties, business acquisitions, property transactions and leasing matters. He advises on the connected legal issues that come up when running, buying, selling or leasing a business.

Through his membership, Global Law Experts members and prospective clients can contact a lawyer whose practice is focused on the needs of businesses in Franklin and greater Auckland. His practice is particularly relevant to business owners, directors, family enterprises, start-ups, property investors, and small and medium-sized enterprises that want practical help with commercial transactions and legal risk.

Through Blackwood Montagna, Peter continues to provide commercially minded legal advice to help clients manage their obligations, protect the value of their businesses, and make business and property decisions with greater certainty.