Tompkins Wake

Our lawyers have a depth of knowledge developed from working across many industries and sectors, both in New Zealand and internationally, which is applied to deliver outstanding results to our corporate and business clients.

We work with a focus on building long-term relationships and providing strategic advice to create and grow value for our clients. Our team also provide day-to-day support to in-house lawyers, giving our clients access to specialists while retaining in-house resource.

We act on the most significant transactions for our clients bringing together our legal and commercial expertise. We act for clients in regulated sectors such as dairy, electricity, telecommunications and local government and understand the impact of regulation on their businesses.

As a trusted advisor, our clients have access to the best advice, guidance and insight whether we are acting as a sounding board, reviewing documents or proposals, negotiating and preparing commercial contracts or acting on our clients’ most difficult or high profile transactions.

Our approach utilises the skills, experience and expertise across the breadth of Tompkins Wake ensuring our clients have access to the best lawyers for the task.

Our litigation team carry on a long tradition of excellence in commercial dispute resolution at Tompkins Wake dating back nearly 100 years. Our team advises on some of the most significant, complex, high-profile cases.

We work with our clients to identify their key issues upfront so that we can tailor our approach and develop the best overall strategy to achieve their goals as quickly and as efficiently as possible. With our clients’ objectives established, we proactively pursue the prompt resolution of commercial and private disputes through direct negotiation, mediation and other dispute resolution techniques.

Our litigators work closely with our specialist teams across Tompkins Wake to provide strategic advice, tailored to our clients' specific issues and needs to ensure cost-effective and timely resolution of disputes.

Where a dispute cannot be resolved our advocates have the expertise to vigorously pursue our clients’ interests through the effective use of Court and arbitral proceedings.

Employers in New Zealand have a robust legal framework to comply with to meet their obligations to employees through the Employment Relations Act and other legislation relating to employees (Health and Safety at Work Act, Holidays Act, Privacy Act, and Human Rights Act). Our employment team works with our clients to help them understand their rights and how to best meet their responsibilities and duties.

Our employment lawyers are skilled at assisting our clients with all routine employment-related processes and when required can participate and support clients in disciplinary meetings and investigation meetings.

In contentious situations, our team can skillfully guide our clients through the mediation process and provide advocacy in the Employment Relations Authority, Employment Court and higher Courts where necessary.

Our employment team provides clients with advice on all contentious and non-contentious aspects of New Zealand employment law, including:

• Drafting employment agreements and policies.
• Employment issues, including performance management, workplace health and safety, harassment and misconduct
• Intellectual property, confidential information and restraints of trade
• Industrial relations and collective bargaining
• Personal grievance claims and other employment-related litigation (including disputes),
• Advice on medical, stress, harassment and bullying issues
• Employer obligations under the sale, purchase or outsourcing of a business
• Restructuring and the design and negotiation of exit packages
• Redundancies and dismissals

We are experienced in major organisational restructuring and can assist in the facilitation and implementation of large-scale change management helping clients navigate the complexities and challenges of organisational change.

Family law can be complex and emotionally challenging. We combine exceptional legal advice with an empathetic approach to help our clients navigate complexity and make confident decisions around their significant personal relationships.

Tompkins Wake is one of New Zealand's leading and most experienced family and relationship law teams. Because our lawyers practice exclusively in this area of law, our clients have access to unrivalled knowledge and expertise. 

We work to understand our client's concerns and objectives, providing pragmatic and strategic advice for resolving matters and helping our clients be in the best possible position to move forward with their lives.

Our online assessment application uses innovative legal technology, which allows you to get started on your matter in your own time and space. The assessment application is free and provides instant, tailored information enabling you to understand the legal frameworks that will be applied to your specific situation and showing you where you stand in minutes. Our lawyers will then use the information you've provided online to move forward with your matter efficiently and effectively.

As well as being one of New Zealand's largest family law practices, Tompkins Wake is also a leading commercial law firm. Our lawyers work closely with other specialist teams across Tompkins Wake to ensure our clients receive strategic advice tailored to their specific issues.

Where matters cannot be resolved through alternate dispute resolution, we advocate for our clients and protect their interests in Court.

As one of the world's most desirable countries in which to live, work and play, New Zealand remains a popular destination for individuals to relocate.

New Zealand has strict laws governing immigration, particularly with COVID19 restricting entry through its borders. We are the law firm clients turn to on the matters most important to them and we help navigate the complexity of New Zealand's immigration laws.

Our experts understand the complexity and requirements of New Zealand immigration law and are able to lawfully give you advice, providing pragmatic and honest guidance about your immigration options. 

We work with individuals and businesses across all sectors and industries, providing strategic advice on New Zealand immigration law and the process to enable individuals to live, work and invest in New Zealand.

As one of New Zealand's leading law firms, Tompkins Wake can provide a wide range of additional services including employment, property, commercial, overseas investment and trust advice. Whether you are an employer, a migrant looking to work in New Zealand or a high net-worth individual looking to invest, Tompkins Wake can assist with any immigration situation that you may be facing. 

The Intellectual Property of any organisation is a major source of competitive advantage and the protection and commercialisation of intellectual property is critical to a business turning innovation into profit.

Tompkins Wake works to bring together experts from across the firm to help our clients design and develop intellectual property strategies drawing from our corporate and commercial expertise to meet our clients’ diverse and changing commercial needs.

We specialise in the enforcement of trade marks, copyright, designs and domain names and in the event of a contentious intellectual property matter, our dispute resolution team can assist in negotiating a successful outcome.

With an international reach across all countries, we provide practical commercial advice to ensure that the value of an organisation's intellectual property is understood and that effective strategies are designed to meet our client’s objectives and protect the value they’ve created.

We can help clients select and prepare briefs for patent attorneys on patent registry matters.

Tompkins Wake provides a full range of property law services throughout New Zealand, combining our local knowledge with nationally recognised expertise.

As the largest practice area in the firm, our property team has built a strong reputation for providing practical and commercial legal advice that assists our clients to achieve their objectives. We do this by working collaboratively with our other specialist practice areas to ensure our clients have access to the best strategic legal advice suited to their needs.

At Tompkins Wake, we act for private clients, developers, investors, end-users, property funds and local government authorities, advising on construction projects, developments, acquisitions, and disposals and leasing.

The firm also advises individuals on personal property matters including:

• Conveyancing
• Trust and estate planning
• Estate Administration
• Preparation of wills
• Relationship Property
• Law relating to the elderly, including retirement villages and residential care.