Tompkins Wake a Rising Star in Legal 500 Rankings

[adrotate banner=”90″]

A raft of rankings in the Asia Pacific Legal 500 is yet another feather in Tompkins Wake’s cap.

The Hamilton-based law firm gained rankings in six practice areas in The Legal 500 rankings (up on two the year prior) and now has 16 recommended lawyers – seven more than last year. And, it is the only law firm in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty to be ranked in The Legal 500 Asia Pacific this year.

The rankings and recommendations come on the back of a hugely successful year last year with the firm being named the mid-size Law Firm of the Year at the 2019 NZ Law Awards and chief executive Jon Calder (above) named the Managing Partner (Chief Executive) of the Year (<100 lawyers). Tompkins Wake was also one of 15 law firms across the country recognised as being at the forefront of innovation by NZ Lawyer.

Tompkins Wake featured in the rankings for their work in dispute resolution, corporate and M&A (mergers and acquisitions), intellectual property, real estate and construction, banking and finance, and projects and resource management including environmental.

The Legal 500 is an independent, impartial organisation that analyses the capabilities of law firms around the world with a comprehensive research programme revised and updated every year. It assesses the strengths of law firms in more than 150 jurisdictions to highlight the practice teams providing the most cutting edge and innovative advice to corporate counsel. 

The impartial commentary provided with each ranking was glowing, with several testimonials showcasing the firm’s strengths: “The firm has good trustworthy professionals. I have worked most recently with the IP lawyers who have been outstanding”, “All are responsive and trustworthy. You know that they understand their work intimately”.

In May 2018 the firm reset and refreshed its strategy with a vision to be the law firm at the centre of New Zealand’s economic and commercial heartland. Since then Tompkins Wake has doubled the size of its Auckland team and opened a Tauranga office. They also have an office in Rotorua.

“The Waikato and Bay of Plenty are the economic heartland and Auckland the commercial… those drive New Zealand’s economic engine and we’re incredibly proud to be playing an integral role in here… helping fuel our clients’ success and contributing to a stronger, more prosperous New Zealand,” chief executive Jon Calder said. 

The firm’s focus for 2020 and beyond is to continue to invest in increasing and building capability to meet the needs of their growing client base by attracting and retaining great people. 

“While the firm has continued to grow – more than 20 per cent over the past four years – we’ve maintained a complete focus on our culture and people. With a partnership group that now totals 22 and more than 115 staff we are still connected, collaborative and focused on delivering for our clients and on giving our people a great working environment and more importantly a great life outside the firm.”

Recent LawFuel News

• Musk v Altman: The Lawyers Running the Biggest AI Trial on Earth | LawFuel
  The Musk v Altman trial is being sold as a grudge match between two tech billionaires over the future of artificial intelligence. But the real contest is between two skilled commercial litigators. Elon Musk has turned to New York trial lawyer Steven Molo of MoloLamken who delivered his opening statement in Oakland to a nine-person jury on April 28, 2026 with Morgan Chu of Irell & Manella’s Los Angeles office playing a supporting role having been lead counsel on Musk’s original state court filings. Log in to read the article . .
• Private Equity MSO Deal Lawyers – The Holland & Knight Lawyers Closing 15+ Law Firm Transactions in Six Months
• Lateral Hiring Surges 16.4% in 2025: Small Firms Crush It With 44% Growth as Talent Wars Accelerate
  The U.S. law firm lateral market shows healthy expansion and also provides a strategic shift toward senior leverage and a surprising surge at smaller firms. According to the National Association for Law Placement (NALP) 2025 Survey of Law Firms on Lateral and 3L Hiring (released April 22, 2026), total lateral hiring volume rose 16.4% year-over-year among the 305 offices/firms reporting comparable data. Log in to read more . .
• Sullivan & Cromwell Joins the AI Hall of Shame — and the Irony Is Exquisite
• LawFuel’s Legal AI Power List 2026
• Hogan Lovells Cadwalader Partners Approve Biggest Law Firm Merger Ever — Big Law’s Latest Power Play for Scale in a Shrinking World
  Partners at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft and Hogan Lovells have just delivered the final, resounding “yes” on what the industry is already calling the largest law firm merger in history. The votes closed this month, clearing the runway for the combined firm — Hogan Lovells Cadwalader — to open its doors on July 1 with a projected $3.6 billion in annual revenue and roughly 3,100 lawyers spread across the Americas, EMEA, and APAC. It’s the kind of deal that makes managing partners lose sleep and rainmakers salivate. Cadwalader, Wall Street’s oldest firm, brings its legendary finance, structured products, and capital markets firepower. Log in to read more . .
• Latham & Watkins 2025 Financial Performance Shows Record Global Revenue of $8.3 Billion and London Milestone
  Latham & Watkins LLP (Latham) has reported record financial results for fiscal year 2025 (ended 31 December 2025), with global gross revenue reaching $8.3 billion, representing an 18.6% increase from approximately $7 billion in 2024. Profit per equity partner (PEP) rose 21.3% to approximately $8.7 million. The standout achievement is the firm’s London office, which crossed the $1 billion revenue threshold for the first time (up from approximately $850 million in 2024, equating to growth of more than 17%) Log in to read more . .
• Australian Billionaire’s Law Firm Takes Meta’s Section 230 Shield to the Mat Over Deepfake Scam Ads
  Australian mining billionaire Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest has poured more than $60 million, – and counting – of his own money into a high-octane federal lawsuit in California’s Northern District Court, accusing Meta of actively enabling and profiting from more than 230,000 deepfake scam ads that stole his likeness to fleece thousands of victims, many of them elderly Australians. Log in to read more . . .
• Yale Dethroned: Stanford Claims Law School Crown After 36 Years of Ivy League Dominance