Auckland, New Zealand / shutterstock.com

Herbert Smith Freehills litigation partner Kirsten Massey has left the firm's London office to return home to New Zealand and join a local firm.

After a decade as a partner at HSF in the U.K., Massey returns to Russell McVeagh as a partner, having previously worked there as an associate before going overseas.

"With specialist knowledge in commercial litigation, class actions, and professional negligence disputes, Kirsten's international experience will provide our clients with further expertise in sectors such as banking and finance and professional services," Russell McVeagh board chairman Malcolm Crotty said in a statement. "We are delighted to have her on board."

Massey has been involved in some of the largest cases in the Commercial Court of England and Wales in recent years, Russell McVeagh said. "She played an instrumental role in achieving a historic settlement for Royal Bank of Scotland on its landmark shareholder rights issue litigation, following the near-collapse and government bailout of the bank in October 2008," the firm said.

Her primary reason for returning to Auckland was family-related, Russell McVeagh said. HSF does not have an office in New Zealand.

"Both her and her husband's families are in New Zealand and they wanted their children to grow up here. Kirsten said that while she was very much enjoying her time at HSF, the opportunity to return to Russell McVeagh and the broader family and lifestyle factors combined to make a move to Auckland the right decision for them," a representative said.

A spokesperson for Herbert Smith Freehills thanked Massey for her contribution to the firm and wished her well.