Chapman Tripp is

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

's largest commercial

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to r ...

. It is considered one of the "big three" law firms along with Russell McVeagh and

Bell Gully Bell Gully is a major New Zealand law firm. Founded in 1840 it is one of New Zealand's largest law firms, and along with Chapman Tripp and Russell McVeagh it is considered to be one of the "big three". Bell Gully is a full-service law firm. M ...

. Established in New Zealand in 1875, it now has around 60 partners and roughly 200 legal staff across its offices in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

and

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

. The firm practises in all areas of corporate and commercial, property, construction, finance, tax, dispute resolution, environmental and public law.

History

Chapman Tripp started as a one-man practice in Wellington in 1875 with Martin Chapman. Chapman was joined in partnership by William Fitzgerald in 1882 and then by Leonard Owen Howard Tripp in 1889, who spent a record 69 years with the firm. The firm went through many name changes, reverting to Chapman Tripp & Co in 1949. In 1962 the firm opened an Auckland office, becoming the first law firm to have offices in both Auckland and Wellington. In 1985 Chapman Tripp merged with Sheffield Young and Ellis, becoming Chapman Tripp Sheffield Young, and in late 1997 the Christchurch office was opened.

Notable alumni

Supreme Court judge Justice Arnold was a partner of predecessor firm Chapman Tripp Sheffield Young between 1985 and 1994. He later served as Solicitor-General between 2000 and 2006 before becoming a judge of the

Court of Appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

, sitting from 2006 until his elevation to the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

. The Honourable Justice Sir Mark O'Regan of the Court of Appeal served as partner at Chapman Tripp from 1984. He was appointed to the High Court in 2001, and was elevated to the Court of Appeal in 2004 where he served as President of the Court of Appeal, until his elevation to the Supreme Court in September 2014. Justice Miller was a partner at Chapman Tripp from 1987, until appointment to the High Court in 2004, and then to the Court of Appeal in June 2013. High Court judges

Collins Collins may refer to: People Surname Given name * Collins O. Bright (1917–?), Sierra Leonean diplomat * Collins Chabane (1960–2015), South African Minister of Public Service and Administration * Collins Cheboi (born 1987), Kenyan middle- ...

, Ellis, Gilbert, Jagose, Katz, MacKenzie and Peters of the High Court all previously held roles at Chapman Tripp, as have a number of District Court judges.

Supporting the Arts

Chapman Tripp is a major supporter of the arts and communities in New Zealand. Chapman Tripp sponsored the

Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards The Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards were the main theatre awards in New Zealand's capital city, Wellington, from 1992–2014, and have been succeeded by the Wellington Theatre Awards. Established in 1992 and sponsored by law firm Chapman Tripp, ...

from 1992 - 2014. The annual awards were established to honour the best in theatre in Wellington. The awards have been a major highlight of the year in the capital's art and social calendar. In addition, Chapman Tripp supports the

Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra The Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra (APO) is a symphony orchestra based in Auckland, New Zealand. Its principal concert venue is the Auckland Town Hall. The APO is the accompanying ensemble for performances by New Zealand Opera, NZ Opera and th ...

Orchestra Wellington Orchestra Wellington is New Zealand's oldest professional regional orchestra, based in the capital city of Wellington. It hosts an annual subscription series of concerts in the Michael Fowler Centre, performing varied repertoire from the Class ...

, the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, the

New Zealand Opera New Zealand Opera is New Zealand's only full-time professional opera company, formed in 2000 from the merger of companies in Auckland and Wellington (and later Christchurch). New Zealand Opera is headquartered in Parnell, Auckland, stages severa ...

, and

Circa Theatre Circa Theatre is a professional theatre company in Wellington, New Zealand, that was established in 1976. They present a number of plays each year in their two auditoriums, and have a unique partnership and funding model with incoming shows unde ...

Rankings

Chapman Tripp is regularly ranked as one of New Zealand's leading law firms, and is considered a top-tier firm in Banking, Finance and Project Finance; Capital Markets; Corporate Commercial and M&A; Dispute Resolution; Real Estate & Construction; and Restructuring and Insolvency.
Across all three major rankings publications, Chapman Tripp has more top-tier rankings than any other New Zealand firm.

References

External links

Link to Chapman Tripp website

{{Law firms of New Zealand Law firms of New Zealand Law firms established in 1875 New Zealand companies established in 1875