Tompkins Wake is a New Zealand

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 ...

, headquartered in

Hamilton, New Zealand Hamilton ( mi, Kirikiriroa) is an inland city in the North Island of New Zealand. Located on the banks of the Waikato River, it is the seat and most populous city of the Waikato region. With a territorial population of , it is the country's fou ...

with offices also 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 ...

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompass ...

and

Tauranga Tauranga () is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty region and the fifth most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of , or roughly 3% of the national population. It was settled by Māori late in the 13th century, colonised by ...

. The firm was founded as Tompkins and Wake in Hamilton on 22 June 1922 by Lance Tompkins and Cecil Barry Wake (known as Barry Wake).

History

Tompkins was a prominent lawyer in Hamilton. In 1958, he was appointed a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

. In 1963, he was called 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 ...

. Sir David Tompkins (Lance Tompkins' son), studied from 1947 to 1952 and graduated from the then

University of New Zealand The University of New Zealand was New Zealand's sole degree-granting university from 1874 to 1961. It was a collegiate university embracing several constituent institutions at various locations around New Zealand. After it was dissolved in 196 ...

with an LLB. He was also a partner in Tompkins Wake, was made a QC, and then sat as a High Court Judge in Auckland. Sir David was Chancellor of the University of Waikato from 1981 to 1985. While the firm still bears its founders' names, it did become Tompkins, Wake, Paterson and Bathgate during the 1960s through to the 1980s when it returned to Tompkins Wake. The firm famously launched the "Case for Hamilton" in 2009, threatening to sue the rest of New Zealand because it was difficult to recruit lawyers. In November 2010 Tompkins Wake acquired Swarbrick Dixon to create Hamilton's largest law firm. The firm then opened its Auckland office in 2012 and in November 2014 Tompkins Wake merged with Davys Burton in Rotorua.

Awards and recognition

2016

* New Zealand Law Awards Finalist – Mid Market Deal of the Year

2017

* Best Lawyers 2017 – Robert Bycroft, leading authority in Biotechnology Law * New Zealand Law Awards Finalist – Mid Size Law Firm of the Year * New Zealand Law Awards Finalist – Consumer, Media and Tech Deal of the Year

2018

* The Legal 500 Asia Pacific – Leading Firm, Corporate M& A, Projects and Resource Management (Tier 3) * The Legal 500 Asia Pacific – Recommended Lawyers, Bridget Parham, Bryce Davey, Mark Renner, Phil Taylor, Robert Bycroft, Theresa Le Bas, Tom Arieli * Best Lawyers 2018 – Robert Bycroft, leading authority in Biotechnology Law *New Zealand Law Awards Finalist – Mid Size law Firm of the Year *New Zealand Law Awards Finalist – Employer of Choice (51–100 Lawyers) *New Zealand Law Awards Finalist – Mid-Market Deal of the Year

2019

* The Legal 500 Asia Pacific – Leading Firm, Corporate M& A (Tier 4), Projects and Resource Management (Tier 3) * The Legal 500 Asia Pacific – Recommended Lawyers, Bridget Parham, Bryce Davey, Marianne Mackintosh, Mark Renner, Philip Monahan, Phil Taylor, Robert Bycroft, Theresa Le Bas, Tom Arieli *Chambers and Partners, Asia Pacific – Liz Lim, Recognised Practitioner, Banking and Finance, New Zealand *Best Lawyers 2019 – Robert Bycroft, leading authority in Biotechnology Law *New Zealand Lawyer, 2019 Innovative Law Firm, Winner *Asialaw Profiles - Notable Firm, Real Estate and Construction Law *Asialaw Profiles - Scott Ratuki - Notable Practitioner, Construction Law *New Zealand Law Awards Winner - Mid-Size Law Firm of the Year *New Zealand Law Awards Winner - Managing Partner of the Year (<100 Lawyers), Jon Calder *New Zealand Law Awards Finalist - Mid-Market Deal of the Year *New Zealand Law Awards Finalist - Employer of Choice (51-100 Lawyers) *International Financial Legal Review (IFLR 1000), Notable Firm, Banking and Finance

2020

* New Zealand Lawyer, 2020 Employer of Choice, Winner * Best Lawyers 2020 - Robert Bycroft, leading authority in Biotechnology Law * Best Lawyers 2020 - Mark Lowndes, leading authority in Corporate Law * The Legal 500 Asia Pacific - Leading Firm, Banking and Finance, Corporate M& A, Dispute Resolution, Intellectual Property, Projects and Resource Management (including Environment) and Real Estate and Construction * The Legal 500 Asia Pacific - Leading Individual, Mark Lowndes * The Legal 500 Asia Pacific - Recommended Lawyers, Bridget Parham, James MacGillivray, Kate Cornegé , Marianne Mackintosh, Mark Hammond, Mark Renner, Peter Duncan, Peter Fanning, Phil Taylor, Scott Ratuki, Shelley Slade-Gully, Stephanie Ambler, Theresa Le Bas and Tom Arieli * The Legal 500 Asia Pacific - Next Generation Partner, Kerri Dewe * The Legal 500 United Kingdom - Recommended Lawyer, Wayne Hofer * Chambers and Partners, Asia Pacific & Global - Mark Lowndes, Ranked Lawyer, Corporate/Commercial, New Zealand * Doyles Guide - Preeminent Lawyer, Family and Relationship Property - Zandra Wackenier * New Zealand Lawyer, 2020 Innovative Law Firms, Winner * International Financial Legal Review (IFLR1000) - Notable Firm, Project Development (Infrastructure projects, Energy and natural resources projects, Non-commercial construction (prisons, hospitals, etc.)) * International Financial Legal Review (IFLR1000) - Notable Firm, M&A * New Zealand Law Awards Winner - Mid-size Law Firm of the Year * New Zealand Law Awards Winner - Managing Partner of the Year (<100 Lawyers), Jon Calder * New Zealand Law Awards Winner - Employer of Choice (51-100 Lawyers)

2021

*New Zealand Lawyer, Elite Women List 2021 - Stephanie Ambler *New Zealand Law Awards Excellence Award - M&A Deal of the Year *New Zealand Law Awards Winner - Insolvency and Restructuring Deal of the Year *New Zealand Law Awards Winner - Employer of Choice (51-100 Lawyers) *New Zealand Law Awards Winner - Mid-Size Law Firm of the Year *International Financial Legal Review (IFLR1000) - Kerri Dewe, Highly Regarded Lawyer, M&A, *International Financial Legal Review (IFLR1000) - Mark Lowndes, Highly Regarded Lawyer, M&A, Technology and telecommunications *International Financial Legal Review (IFLR1000) - Notable Firm, Mergers & Acquisitions 2021 *International Financial Legal Review (IFLR1000) - Notable Firm, Project Development 2021 *New Zealand Lawyer - Jon Calder, Most Influential Lawyers List 2021 *Doyles Guide - Leading Family and Relationship Property Law Firm, Tier 2 *Doyles Guide - Leading Lawyer, Family and Relationship Property - Stephanie Ambler and Zandra Wackenier *Benchmark Litigation - Commercial and transactions, Tier 3 *Best Lawyers - Mark Lowndes, leading authority in Corporate Law, Information Technology Law and Telecommunications Law *Best Lawyers - James MacGillivray, leading authority in Arbitration and Mediation , Litigation *Best Lawyers - Robert Bycroft, leading authority in Biotechnology Law *AsiaLaw Profiles - Mark Lowndes, Notable Practitioner, Corporate and M&A * AsiaLaw Profiles - Notable Firm, Corporate and M&A, Construction, Dispute Resolution, Real Estate * Chambers and Partners, Asia Pacific - Tompkins Wake, Dispute Resolution, Band 4 * Chambers and Partners, Asia Pacific - James MacGillivray, Dispute Resolution, Band 4 * Chambers and Partners, Asia Pacific & Global - Mark Lowndes, Corporate/Commercial, Band 4 * The Legal 500 Asia Pacific - Leading Firm, Dispute Resolution, Intellectual Property, Projects and Resources Management (including Environment), Real Estate and Construction, Corporate and M&A * The Legal 500 Asia Pacific - Recommended Lawyers, Andrew Orme, Bridget Parham, Bryce Davey, Campbell Stewart, Fraser Wood, James MacGillivray, Kate Cornegé, Kate Searancke, Kerri Dewe, Mark Hammond, Mark Lowndes, Mark Renner, Marianne Mackintosh, Peter Duncan, Peter Fanning, Phil Taylor, Robert Bycroft, Scott Ratuki, Shelley Slade-Gully, Simon Jass, Stephanie Ambler, Theresa Le Bas and Tom Arieli

2022

Best Lawyers *Best Lawyers - Mark Lowndes, Lawyer of the Year, Technology Law (Auckland) *Best Lawyers - Robert Bycroft, leading authority in Biotechnology Law *Best Lawyers - James MacGillivray, leading authority in Arbitration and Mediation and Litigation *Best Lawyers - Mark Lowndes, leading authority in Corporate Law, Information Technology Law, Technology Law and Telecommunications Law. Benchmark Litigation *Benchmark Litigation - Commercial and transactions, Tier 3 Chambers and Partners *Asia Pacific - Tompkins Wake, Dispute Resolution, Band 4 *Asia Pacific - James MacGillivray, Dispute Resolution, Band 4 *Asia Pacific - Mark Lowndes, Corporate/Commercial, Band 4 Doyles Guide *Leading New Zealand Māori Law, Māori Land & Treaty of Waitangi Law Firm, Recommended *Recommended Lawyer, Employment and Safety Law - Daniel Erickson *Leading Family and Relationship Property Law Firm, Tier 1 *Preeminent Lawyer, Family and Relationship Property - Stephanie Ambler *Leading Lawyer, Family and Relationship Property - Zandra Wackenier *Recommended Lawyer, Family and Relationship Property - Kate Sullivan *Rising Star, Family and Relationship Property - Lauren Gamble Human Resources Director (HRD) *5 Star Employer of Choice 2022 NZ Law Awards *Winner, Employer of Choice (<100 Lawyers) *Excellence Awardee, Large Law Firm of the Year *Excellence Awardee, Insolvency and Restructuring Deal of the Year – Liquidation of Autoterminal New Zealand Limited *Excellence Awardee, Young Private Practice Lawyer of the Year – Tina Liu *Excellence Awardee, Managing Partner of the Year (<100 Lawyers) – Jon Calder NZ, Lawyer *Rising Star - Tina Liu, Morgan Brady and Fiona Dalziel *Elite Women - Stephanie Ambler and Theresa Le Bas The Legal 500 *Private Practice Arbitration Powerlist - Australia and New Zealand - James MacGillivray *Asia Pacific - Recommended Lawyers, Bridget Parham, Bryce Davey, Campbell Stewart, Fraser Wood, James MacGillivray, Kate Cornege, Kate Searancke, Kerri Dewe, Mark Hammond, Mark Lowndes, Mark Renner, Marianne Mackintosh, Peter Duncan, Peter Fanning, Phil Taylor, Robert Bycroft, Scott Ratuki, Shelley Slade-Gully, Stephanie Ambler, Theresa Le Bas, Tom Arieli and Zandra Wackenier. *Asia Pacific - Leading Firm, Corporate and M&A, Dispute Resolution, Intellectual Property, Projects and Resources Management (including Environment), Real Estate and Construction

References

{{Reflist Law firms of New Zealand Law firms established in 1922 Companies based in Hamilton, New Zealand Privately held companies of New Zealand